I have been so inspired by the wonderful feats of our athletes this summer. May the golden glow of achievement linger within us. I’ve been reflecting on how training to excel in a sport is so similar to training to excel in life. It takes hard work, dedication and persistence.
Michael Johnson, former gold medalist said this week that the first step to improving in sport is to have self-awareness. Know your strengths and your weaknesses and do everything possible to improve your weaknesses. I can see the correlation here between knowing yourself and doing all you can to be the best you can be.
Anything worthwhile must be worked at. This includes our own desires for self-improvement. If there are weak links within you, learn how to strengthen them. And then be persistent and keep practising what you’ve learned, until it becomes second nature to you. It was obvious to see that the medal winning athletes had trained for a long time to get themselves in the winning positions. Their success was born out of many hours, weeks and months of getting their bodies and minds prepared for success. Personal development is no different. Changing old patterns of weakness needs determination. After much repetition the brain begins to lay down new tracks and grooves. Until eventually the new behaviour feels comfortable and familiar. There are no short-cuts. Keep on practising positive behaviour, for example; thinking before reacting in anger or being responsible for your actions instead of blaming others.
Soon enough you too will feel the satisfaction of success and pride in your own personal achievements.
