Improve Your Performance by Emulating Olympic Athletes

Even those who are not devotees of amateur or professional sports and athletes will admit that the best performers are truly exceptional people. Taking naturally-given physical talent and combining it with intelligence and dedication, they achieve goals that most of us only dream about.

If you've ever had the pleasure of listening to some of the best motivational speakers in the world, you've probably heard many analogies and comparisons of superior athlete techniques and high level job performance. Motivational speakers use these analogies because they understand that high intensity workers and high performing athletes can use similar techniques to achieve their goals.

Certainly you don't have to spend hours per day on a bicycle or bench press 250 pounds, but the motivation and dedication to achieve and excel are identical. But, as with any action plan, simply saying, "I want to be the best" is not sufficient. You must identify the components of your plan, then follow and use them every day to achieve your goals. Just as an Olympic athlete uses repetition to generate what's called "muscle memory" and the best auto responses when they compete, you need to use these techniques consistently to perform. Use one or all of these tips to become a top workplace athlete.

Tips to Become an Olympic Performer at your Job
The following techniques are used by most Olympic and high-performing athletes in all sports. Once you understand all the components of your job, the rest of your success will depend on your psychological input. Keep that in mind as you consider these three important tips.

• Visualization. If you play golf, you already are aware that all high-performing pros use visualization before every shot. Actually, regardless of your sport, visualizing the outcome of your next stroke, shot, forward pass, etc. is an important component of your winning psychology. This technique is invaluable at work, too. For instance, assume you're faced with a project or problem that you're responsible to solve. Try visualizing a successful result before you even start the project. Picture what a successful result would look and feel like, and how you will react when it happens.
  
  
• Anticipate roadblocks and problems. Just as Olympic athletes train their bodies, they train their minds to anticipate things that may happen during their events that could cause problems. They then prepare effective responses. You can perform this same "rehearsal" before you start a new job, project or assignment. Anticipate every large - and small - problem that might occur. Plan a response to fix the problem in advance. Should something happen, instead of panic, all you need do is go to your checklist of solutions, and act!
  
  
• Keep your eyes on the prize at all times. Focus, focus, and focus. Just as a superior athlete is single-minded and dedicated to achievement, you should give your primary attention to nothing but the excellence of your job performance. Spending valuable time dealing with daily annoyances or other minor job-related inconveniences is energy-destroying, mind-confusing and goal-defeating. Do not let non-related, unimportant thoughts intrude on your mental focus on achieving your goal.

Using these tips will mirror those used by Olympic and all high-achieving athletes, and by using them on a consistent basis, you may find yourself performing superbly, being noticed, and achieving your career goals!

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