What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Beating the Demons

Chapter 1

 



by Coach Joe



How many times in your life have you missed your goals and been frustrated?  If you're like most of us, it's been many, many times.  So how do those few athletes that seem to be successful on most days do it?  They do it by beating the demons!

Demons are the voices we all have in our head that hold us back.  Those "I can't do it!" voices that take our head out of the game before we even start.  They are the voices that compare us to others and convince us that we are not as good.  That we are not worthy of success.  We just have not earned it.  Those demons make us fail.

Successful athletes know how to slay the demons and maintain a "can do" attitude at all times. So how do they do it?  Are they gifted mentally as well as physically?  The answer is No!  All they've done is to set proper goals and stay focused only on those goals.  They don't set unrealistic goals or focus on things that are not within their control.  Can it be this simple?  Yes!!

Let's look at proper goal setting.  Often times we set race performance time targets that are not based on our current capabilities, past performances, or do not take into account course conditions or weather.  One common example is the runner that decides to do a first marathon in less than 4 hours.  When asked how they picked that time, the answer is something like the following:

• It's a nice round number.
• My buddy did it in that time and I think I should be able to do that too.
• I did a half marathon in 2 hours and 1 minute, so with more training and harder work I should be able to do double that distance in less time, right, Coach?

These all might sound ok, but none of them are relevant to the actual capabilities of this athlete.  Nor do they take into account things that are outside of our control, like the weather.  All through training and during the race the athlete will be trying to shoot for a goal that is most likely not going to happen.  This adds a significant amount of stress and anxiety.  The "I'm going to fail" demon starts to dig in and take control of everything.  The extra stress reduces the performance level and almost ensures that failure will occur.  That stress and pressure could even be high enough that the athlete over trains for the race and gets injured.  They never even make it to the start line.

Proper goals in this example would be a list of objectives that the athlete can control and accomplish. 

• Start the race at an easy pace and build speed later.
• Stay in control and follow the race plan all the way to finish.
• Conserve enough energy to finish strong instead of slowing down or walking.
• Have fun before, during, and after the race. Enjoy the journey!
• Say something nice and support others that are struggling along the way.
• Play positive audio- and videotapes in your mind to push the pain demon away.

Once the proper goals are set AND practiced throughout all training, the athlete has much higher odds of success during training and on race day.

This chapter opened with the simple, catchy quote,

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

Now, this short, touchy-feely little saying starts to take on a more powerful and deeply profound meaning.  What it really says is that you just cannot fail if you set your goals correctly.  Success is guaranteed.  Every race and every day in life can be a winning day for you!
 
So what are you going to attempt next?

Stay tuned for Chapter 2 of Beating the Demons.

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Joe LoPresto is the Founder and Head Coach of Experience Triathlon.   As leaders in the endurance coaching industry, Coach Joe and the EXPERIENCETriathlon coaching team help athletes of all ages and abilities achieve success in training, racing and life.  Learn more about Coach Joe and EXPERIENCETriathlon at http://www.experiencetriathlon.com/.