Competition Expectations
Athletes have a little something extra in their vault. Olympic athletes have a lot of something extra in their vault. It is a spectacular achievement and participation should never be taken for granted. There is a reason we watch with such fascination as they jump, skate, run, shoot and do all sorts of other crazy physical stuff with their bodies. They put in the practice and still need a load of luck to perform well. As we all know when we perform with any type of uncomfortable feeling, it takes digging deep to find the right ingredients to medal in any event in life. The announcers tear apart each performance on the world stage to identify the little bits that resisted perfection. We are all announcers in each other’s lives.
Everyday Competition
Many days feel like a competition. We perform for our families, our colleagues, our friends and every driver who wants to park as close to the entrance to the store as we do. It’s a natural part of our make-up. The unnatural part is the over-reaching inability to accept loss when someone else wins. In sports, the emphasis is on the outcome of the event. The highest score, the shortest time and the steepest jump are all measured from every possible angle and the winners are determined. There is a stomach-churning feeling difference between winning first place and achieving second or third if second or third feels like a loss. Most of us would accept second or third with very big smiles. Even when our daily outcome isn’t medal-worthy, we got into the fray.
The Starting Gate
Let’s think about the part of the process where the first step is taken. The start. This is often the most difficult place for us to find. It really takes a lot of guts to plunge into any project. These kinds of feelings underpin procrastination. The initial task to start a project seems unimportant but it is really crucial because once it is done, momentum takes over. Momentum has a lot of positive emotions attached to it and provides just enough fuel to help us take the next step with courage. Once started, everything seems a little bit less of a difficulty. After all, if we can initiate something important, there is no doubt it can be done. We aren’t all Olympians, right? But maybe we are in a way. Maybe that’s the part of the mindset we haven’t thought yet. Get to that starting gate and take off.
Medal that Start
Let’s give as much attention to the effort put into starting as finishing. Everyone knows how good completing a goal or task or anything feels. Take that first step with the confidence that it will get you to the final one. Honor the work put into the first phase of a project because without it there would be no final phase. The foundation of all achievement starts somewhere in the soft mud. Celebrate the beginning of your next task and see the effect. Each step forward increases the belief that just continuing on the path, the finish line will get closer. You can even speed up when you feel good about your progress. Be an Olympian in your own rite. Picture yourself on the platform grinning with the feeling that you accomplished something created just from your ability to relentlessly keep going.
What can you start today to practice the exhilaration of that first step? What is it about accomplishing something that makes us feel so good? Can you high-five the effort of those around you when they start on their own shaky way?
