The 2022 Winter Olympics are well underway in Beijing, China. As I watch these incredible athletes compete for medals, I have been thinking about what it takes for them to get there and be at the top of their game. There are numerous traits that I’ve read about that are common among champions, but three in particular stand out to me and are ones that we can all use to uplevel our own lives.
I call these the Three P’s:
- Picture – Olympic champions create clear pictures in their minds of the results that they want to achieve. Picturing or visualizing is where you start with the end in mind. You have to know where you are going before you can get anywhere. Olympians are excellent visualizers. They visualize themselves doing that perfect spin on the ice or making that perfect ski jump or whatever skill they are trying to achieve before it ever manifests in the real world. Imagining something in your mind is the first step to making it a reality. That image alone creates a space, however small, to be filled with something new.
- Practice – It goes without saying that Olympians have invested years and years of blood, sweat and tears to perfect their craft. As Malcolm Gladwell discussed in his bestseller, “Outliers”, it takes 10,000 hours (or about 10 years) of deliberate practice to become an expert at something. He writes, “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” It’s the little things done over and over and over again that lead to tiny shifts that move you closer towards your goals. It’s the tedious and repetitive daily habits that create results in our lives. Those results may be ones that we want or one’s that we don’t, but either way they can be directly traced back to our daily habits.
- Plan for obstacles – Anticipating obstacles and finding strategies to overcome them is a key factor in Olympians’ success. Rather than hiding their flaws, Olympic champions must expose all of their flaws on a daily basis. They must be open to feedback, both positive and negative, and see it as an avenue to improvement. They don’t do this alone. What Olympic champion have you known without a coach at their side? It often takes someone outside of ourselves to see the things we cannot see. Maybe it’s pointing out that physical position of our body or perhaps it’s identifying a thought or belief that’s no longer serving us or holding us back somehow. We are often our own biggest obstacle. Those who recognize this truth and take the steps to challenge themselves to improve are the ones who achieve the greatest success.
Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.
Malcolm Gladwell in “Outliers”
So there you have it: Picture, Practice, and Plan. You don’t have to be an Olympian or even an athlete to implement these three simple traits into your own life. Any of us can achieve greatness and tremendous success. We don’t even need a medal to prove it. Just pick a goal, whether it’s a small one like learning a new skill, or a larger one like changing an undesirable character trait. Create that crystal clear image of you at the finish line, practice the daily habits necessary to get you closer and closer to your goal, and plan for all the obstacles that can get in your way.
And don’t forget to consider a coach to help get you there faster and help you get out of your own way!
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