Sport is an excellent medium in which to explore the
mechanics of achievement. My own background is in
Whitewater Canoe Slalom, which requires power and
technique in a constantly changing environment. How is this
for a fitting metaphor for today’s business environment and
life altogether? You need resources (power), like money,
people or things and use them in skilful ways (technique) to
adapt, grow and thrive in an ever changing and unfolding
environment.
You may know exactly what you want (e.g.: Gold Medal),
even have a detailed and well researched plan or process
to get there and you will still encounter those factors that are
not under your control, factors you haven’t accounted for.
Even if we were to collect all the experiences ever made in
pursuit of this particular goal and were able to devise a plan
taking all these experiences into account, we would still not
be able to devise a fail proof plan.
No plan, no map can ever be 100% indicative of what
actually happens! So how do we account for that which can’t
be accounted for? Why am I actually stressing this fact? Isn’t
it that ‘we win some and loose some’? It certainly can be, if
you are OK with that…
When I went to the Olympics I had just won the World
Championships the year before and I certainly went there to
win, as did a number of other competitors in my discipline. I
wasn’t going to leave it to chance. Since I was 8 years old I
was competing in my sport and from about age 16 the
Olympics was my declared goal and passion. Now I am
here and NOW everything has to fall into place, or does it?!
So, what is the answer? Not to make a plan at all? Or to
leave particular things open and unanswered, or to have a
number of plans (A, B, C, …), or to ‘do your best and don’t
worry about the outcome’?
Before I give my take on this, I want to stress the important
fact that at this point I was prepared to ‘peak’. I went through
many troths to get to this peak and these ‘down times’, or
‘basic training periods’ are what provided the foundation for
the peak. When you truly take in the inevitability of this
principle you can use it to evaluate what benefits could be
had by periodising the activities of your company or by taking
account for times of action and replenishment in your life.
There is also an important qualitative differentiation. What
you actually ‘do’ at your peak, the actual way (technique) you
use your resources may be very different to how you operate
at other times. This may have to necessarily be so, because
of the sustainability of the effort, due to physical or mental
strain. Again, taking this into account will give you more
energy when you really want it, when you need it to make the
difference to your competitors. When you always run on
what you consider ‘high’, where will you get the energy to go
to ‘highest’, or ‘smartest’, or ‘most dynamic’, whatever the
key quality is that you or your team need to excel.
Also know that there is no growth without recovery. It’s in
times of recovery and replenishment that our bodies and
minds grow and adapt. Understanding this and putting it to
work effectively, is a huge area of gain for athletes and
others wanting to grow and develop.
In summary, for now, Actual Achieving doesn’t come from
nowhere, resources need to be build and techniques need
to be acquired. Peaking all the time is not possible and
much can be gained from positively understanding and
working with this.
This much for honoring the process! More in part 2.
© by Oliver Fix
About The Author
Oliver Fix, Olympic Gold Medallist in 1996 and Olympic
Medal Winning Coach in 2004, offers coach / consultant
services that can propel you and your company into this
outstanding level of success.
Find out more on his website: http://www.oliverfix.com
and contact him at: oliver@oliverfix.com
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