“It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” — Paul William “Bear” Bryant (1913-1983)
As an athlete, I ask myself directly, and as a coach, I ask my athletes indirectly: “What is your level of commitment?”
It’s easy to say, “I’d like to try an Ironman“ or maybe even “I wish I could qualify for the Ironman World Championships,”or but as Bear Bryant reminds us, commitment to excellence (however you define it) is more than just about wishing.
Interestingly enough, one’s word choice often reflects their level of commitment and ultimately (I believe) their level of success in achieving challenging goals as shown by the Commitment Continuum.1
Phrases like “I wish…” or “I hope…” reflect much lower levels of commitment than phrases like “I want…” or “I commit…” Success tends to favor those who use “I want…” and “I commit…”
For me personally, ever since an outstanding 2007 triathlon racing season where I set an 8:51 Ironman PR at Challenge Roth then followed it up with an overall win at Vineman Triathlon and decent finish at IRONMAN Louisville, my motivation and subsequently my commitment level dropped.
I had made the mistake of over committing myself by racing 3 Ironman’s in 2 months, organizing 6 triathlons and simply running myself into the ground, which led to burnout then eventually injury as I tried to carry a high level of training through to an early 2008 marathon. My commitment level subsequently fell off the chart to “I don’t care.” I stopped serious training and focused simply on easy training to stay fit.
But, after a few months of easy training and self-reflection, I went back up the continuum to Commit with my triathlon training as I focused on IRONMAN Couer d’Alene the following year.
Why the shifts down then up the Commitment Continuum for me? Truly, I don’t know all the reasons, but it really doesn’t matter, does it?
We all move up and down the continuum. The point is that we recognize that motivation and commitment levels will fluctuate so we will need to adjust our focus and goals accordingly.
Live strongly and boldly!
David
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David B. Glover, MS, CSCS
1 Source: The Science and Practice of Sport Nutrition by Dr. John Berardi and Ryan Andrews (Precision Nutrition, Inc. 2009), p. 255.
