What can the eastern philosophies teach us about Triathlon? Actually, quite a lot. We have all heard of the principal of yin and yang, the inseparable twins and we readily accept the fact that up cannot exist without down, in without out, hot without cold, etc. But what about success and failure? We in the United States accept most of these opposites in our lives without question but we seem to really believe that we can have success without risking failure. The truth is that every time we dare to succeed, failure goes along for the ride. Like it or not, we cannot achieve great things without risking failure. There is an exception to this that I will share with you at the end of this article. Maybe this can be the year we chase the big dream or really go for it in a big way.
Eric talks about raising the bar in his recent article and how we all should dare to go after big goals so for 2004 here are some things to help insure our chances of a successful year.
- Don't just set Goals. I believe that one of the reasons New Years resolutions fail is because it is very difficult to set goals that truly motivate us to significant change. A recent Triathlon magazine article was about goal setting. It really was a good article but too one-dimensional. It is not enough to write down your goals and look at them everyday. If you want to measurably increase your chances for success you should set sensory rich goals. It is not enough to look at your goals on a sheet of paper; you should taste them, feel them, hear them and live them. The more senses you involve everyday in experiencing the accomplishment of your goals the better your chance of success. When you use sensory rich goal setting you live your goals and become one with them.
- Become Obsessive. One definition of the word obsess is to preoccupy greatly. I know, some of you are saying "but Big Rocks you are always preaching balance in life". I am but if you want to go beyond your comfort zone you need to make your goals part of your life everyday and minute. Not to the exclusion of everything else but in addition. You need to live and breathe your goals. They should become an intrinsic part of your total fabric. After all, our big goals are what drive us and give meaning to our lives. They should be on our minds for they provide the fuel for positive action and accomplishment.
- Risk success. Would you like a 100% guarantee of not failing? I can give it to you; simply do not try to succeed at anything. You see, when we risk success we risk failure and that is not a bad thing. The greater your goal the bigger the potential failure. It has to be that way it’s the law. The risk of failure will always be there so do not try and run away from it. You can't. Learn to use the fear by embracing success with every sense you have, everyday in every way. Think of all you will learn.
I wish you all a successful year.
