In any given activity, anyone can perform; only few perform to their full capabilities. Why is that? Understanding that no one is perfect, and that each of us are going through life’s challenges that may not always meet the eye; why is it that some individuals on a consistent basis perform at their highest levels more than others?
Throughout my athletic career, I saw so many of my teammates, rivals and even myself at times battle with performance issues. Here are five fundamental reasons why you may not be performing to your capability:
- Not believing you can achieve it.
- Allowing negative circumstances dictate your thoughts and actions.
- Being ill-prepared.
- Not trusting the 3 P’s (Planning, Preparing & Practicing) that you did was good enough.
- Living in fear (intimidation) of your opponent, crowd, environment, weight of the situation, etc.
The underlying issue in all of these is the inability to be mentally strong and to believe in yourself. Having the blind faith in your abilities is the foundation to the success in your development. Trusting in the process of your journey towards your success is vital. By accepting where your skill set is currently and knowing you are not tapping into your full potential yet, this will create humility and perspective. Although you may want to win and succeed right now, your perseverance is what your journey needs in order to reach your full potential.
Let’s say you are at 50% of your potential in the given niche that you are aspiring towards, the only way you can successfully get to 50.1%, is by giving 100% of your 50%. I understand this is easier to say than it is to do, but this is where you need to PERSEVERE!
- Persevere through the challenges that life throws at you.
- Persevere through the unavoidable failures that will naturally come.
- Persevere through the heartache of not being celebrated at this time.
- Persevere through the feeling of wanting to call it quits, because things aren’t coming “natural to you.”
- Persevere through the sacrifices and dedication that is needed to master your craft.
Persevere, persevere, persevere! When and only WHEN you persevere, will you be able to tap into the unknown potential that you have.
“Success” is in the eye of the beholder. Reaching your success will be you knowing how proud of the way you shined your character through the journey towards your prosperity. If you are worried what others perceive you as, know this; very few will remember your stats, grades, what deal you manifested, what you said, what you did or didn’t, but they will remember the feelings and vibes you gave them through your decisions with your words and actions.
Very few are destined for “greatness,” but we are all destined to prosper. The onus is on us after we wake up each morning, and make a decision to decide how and who we want to be that day. Every morning ask yourself this:
- What am I striving to be successful at?
- Am I being my own best friend?
- Am I going to attack today with my 100%, or am I going to have regrets when my head hits the pillow tonight?
- What can I do today, that I will be proud of tomorrow?
Great opportunities are created from making the appropriate decisions and following a process until reaching the success you envisioned. Your time is of the essence, RIGHT NOW! Go after your goals, dreams and ideal vision of yourself today. I guarantee you will thank yourself tomorrow!
By Shae McNamara, Elite Sports Clubs Performance & Wellness Coach