In order to accomplish anything of beyond ordinary you must possess an intense DESIRE.
So what is desire? Most dictionaries state that it is “a strong emotion of wanting something” Have you ever wanted something so bad that you could only think of that one thing, that one person? What lengths were you willing to go for that 1 thing? Did you feel it in your stomach? Did it stay in your mind all day,everyday? Did it consume you? Everything you did was effected by this desire? Every decision you made was made with this desire in mind?
I have had a handful of these intense desires in my life. In sports, every goal I had that became this intense, burning desire I accomplished. I’m not bragging about myself bc I can’t say that I accomplished everything I set out for. There have been times when the actions didn’t meet the words because the desire wasn’t there. But when the actions have met the desire, I have been a winner, champion, accomplished my goal. The point is I’m nothing special- not the quickest, strongest, talented, etc but I can accomplish what I put my mind and heart to.
My personal goal this year was to run 40 miles to commerate my 4oth birthday. Was I told I was crazy- by just about everyone either from their looks or comments. Was it a lofty goal- extremely. Why did I do it? Because I love challenging myself. I don’t have sports anymore. I don’t have that 1 game left or that 1 season left. I needed a goal and I love to run. Reaching the goal though isn’t as important as the desire and the journey. So how did I do it and how can you reach your goals?
1. I had a burning desire and a deep love for running. “Never, never, never, give up on something or someone you can’t live without” At that time in my life, I wanted it as much if not more than anything. No matter the goal, if you don’t have that desire and love it won’t happen. I lived for the 2 long runs on the weekends (in training for ultras, most training plans call for 2 long runs 8-25 miles on back to back days). Not to accomplish this was not an option.
2. I had an unwavering belief in myself. I knew if I made my mind up to do it I would. If you are applying this in a team setting, you must have an unwavering belief in your teammates and coaches.
3. Everyday not just the days I felt like it, I prepared myself mental. “People don’t win because they are physically stronger. It’s because they’re stronger between the ears”. I visualized my long runs. I repeated my affirmations :”I love hills” and “I am a Tata Manjara”(a hidden tribe discussed in the book, Born to Run). I looked at my vision board daily to remind myself why I was doing this. I set a daily goal each day. Again, the key was I did this everyday.
4. I avoided negativity. “Weed out the negative and feed the positive” I avoided spending anymore time that I had to around those that didn’t support my journey or thought I was stupid. I didn’t need to hear the negativity. I also limited negative influences (partying, traveling, people that zapped my energy). It became about ME and my desire. Everything I did, I asked myself it if was going to help me. Some say this is selfish and to a degree it is. But successful people have to have some degree of selfishness or else great feats are never accomplished. I did ask those close to me to support me and be patient- that it was only 4 months of my life.
5. I had an action plan and I set goals. You don’t decide one day that you are going to just go out and run 40 miles. It has to be planned out. I had a 16 week plan and I knew everyday what I needed to run or if it was a rest day. I also had mental and physical goals throughout the process.
6. I was extremely disciplined and consistent in doing all the little things. I followed my daily workout, I planned out most of my meals and snacks, I had a stretching/yoga routine, I had frequent massages, I made sure I got the rest I needed, I iced after every run, I
refueled within the hour of every run, I made sure I was prepared (drink, food,gear ready, knew the route, etc). You never know what that one thing is that may make a difference so its best to leave nothing to chance.
7. I was very effective at self (time)management. It took a lot of time (2 long runs each weekend can take up the entire day) plus the amount of time I put into doing all the extras (stretching,resting, eating, massages, etc) but I became more time efficient. I also made a lot of sacrifices and postponed immediate gratification for the goal.
9. I was resilient and learned from failure. “Success is how high you bounce once you fall.” It wasn’t all rosy. I had a lot of bad runs. Sometimes I didn’t get my goal for the day. But it was temporary. When I had a bad day, I analyzed what I ate the day before, the amount of sleep I got, did I overextend myself in other areas that week, did I not get myself mentally prepared, what were the extras I didn’t do? I bounced back with more resolve. During the actual run, there were a handful of times I wanted to throw the towel in but I found a way to keep going.
11. I had laser like focus and stayed in the moment. “The future depends on what we do in the present” I had a singlemindnesss. Everything I did, I asked myself, “is this going to help me accomplish my goal?”
12. I strove for constant improvement. “Kaizen”- Japanese word for daily improvement I researched ways to help me I asked people with experience, I read as
much as I could. I continually adapted and changed and looked for new ways to give me an edge. I never knew what the extra edge was going to be so I made sure I got everyone I could. Also if I had an amazing run, I didn’t say okay take the day off. If anything it pushed me harder
13. I had an inner calm and peace. When you know you are doing EVERYTHING you can to be in as good a mental and physical shape as
possible, you can not help but be at peace.
14. I went the extra mile. Many days I didn’t want o get up and run but would have preferred to do something fun the night before but I got up. Many days I wanted to cut it short but I pushed myself 1 more minute, 1 more mile. Many times I didn’t want to stretch. Many times I had a pain telling me to stop but my mind heard it as “this is good, it means I am getting stronger and stronger. If I can get through this I can get through anything”
Bottomline is my desire, the supportive people I surrounded myself with and my willingness to do all the little extras each day allowed me to accomplish what not even 1% of the earth’s population will ever accomplish. It was a lifestyle for 4 months. I am 40 years old. If you and/or your team apply these skills think of what you could accomplish.
Everyone says they want to win but do you want the path to it? You must focus on the path not the destination. What are you doing today to get your desire? Do you do the little things every day? I have the easy job of telling you what you need to do in order to be successful.
You have the hard job of deciding if you are willing to do what it takes everyday. But remember with that comes great rewards.