Archive for September 2010
Talent… In reply to Kes
Kester Wilkinson commented on the Joining the Dots post and rather than reply to him I thought I would post a response as this is a subject close to my heart….He pointed me to this article http://bit.ly/9QCvyj and asked for an opinion. Of course, I have one!
I believe the word talent is used very loosely and by many without due care and thought. Coaches are also very apt at using it to get business and if misunderstood can lead to many false beliefs and players who simply will never achieve their potential.
With regard to the article I believe whole heartedly in the number of hours practice put in being an indicator of potential. There is a lot of evidence now proving the 10,000 hours theory and having worked in performance tennis for many years I am pretty much in support of this barring the odd freak of course. The 10,000 hours applies to anything not just sport. It is also important to consider the quality of the 10,000 hours. 10,000 hours of bad coaching or ill spent time will result in under achieving. Read the rest of this entry »
Before you can “join the dots……”
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- Which way were you shaped?
My last post addressed joining the dots in your life but before we do this we need to identify a few things about ourselves. What drives us? What are our core beliefs? What are our passions? What are our limiting beliefs and even perhaps where do these come from?
We are shaped by our beliefs. Who we be is determined by so many factors.. Genetics, nature, nurture and within these there are a zillion reasons for why we are like we are. One of the key factors is our childhood. How we were educated both at home and at school, however, the strongest influence even if you were at boarding school for most of your youth is how we were parented. It is our parents who are the key educators. Or in many cases, un-educators. Yes, so many of our limiting beliefs will come from our key role models. Read the rest of this entry »
Joining The Dots….
A group of youths who needed to repair their picture...They trekked 150 km across the Sinai
The last few posts have created quite a few questions which I always like….. James Cracknell’s article, beliefs, limiting beliefs, motivation and what is your chronic injury…? These are all inextricably linked to the title of todays post; Joining The Dots.
I spoke with Carlyle of Prohab Performance yesterday who asked what this weeks posts were about… I responded with “why?” His reply was “I asked my clients how they would know if life was a success? The answers were obviously very mixed but the overriding observation was the a lack of clarity.
If we take look at someone like James Cracknell who seems to have all his ducks in a row and most would say leads a successful happy life; he has just had a huge life experience that has knocked one or more of those ducks down. Shaken his success, maybe his belief too. His accident in America where he was knocked of his bike during another endurance attempt will make him evaluate seriously. Before, all was good with his tv career blossoming, work was fun, exciting and so on. He was shaping his role as super endurance hero but this came with a price. Read the rest of this entry »
Find inspiration from within…..
Enjoy!
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James Cracknell’s Marathon des Sables
James Cracknell – Superhuman?
I first met James at the bivouac on the Marathon des Sables, also known as the MdS. One of my commissions was to supply images for Discovery TV as they were filming James during this years race for a scientific programme analysing how the body reacts under such pressure in the desert heat. I was keen to examine his performance.
Is he superhuman or just a normal human being who is able to achieve the extraordinary? Like athletes Daley Thomson or Jesse Owen, or Richard Branson and Steve Jobs of the business world; these are individuals who found or find it hard to achieve anything less than perfection in their chosen fields.
The Marathon des Sables is a 250km run over some of the harshest terrain the Moroccan Sahara can throw up. It is a stage race where competitors run increasing distances each day until stage 4 which is 82 km long. They have to battle through of sand, mountains, rocks and wadi beds. Stage 5 is an official marathon and finally stage 6 is a mere 20 km but over some of the highest dunes in the world. And that brings them to the end of the race. It is a self sufficient run so James had to carry everything he needed for the 7 days and water was rationed and handed out at checkpoints and at the end of each stage.
The highest ranking Brits prior to this year were the two previous years at 13th. Ian Sharman in 2008 and William Davis in 2009
“I am not a runner and I weigh in at 90kg” James told me. “I will be pleased to finish top 50”. I was a bit sceptical at first as I have run the event and not being a runner and that heavy is incredibly hard going. Most of the top racers weigh in at 65 kilo’s max!
Read the rest of this entry »
Limiting Beliefs
I have watched the video below many times. I thought much about his methods and as a coach I both like them and dislike them. I have also used them on occasions in a different sporting arena and successfully. Not by choice but out of frustration. I didnt like doing it but I also new the player could do what we were asking.
This lady believed she was trying her hardest. She truly believed she could not do the 30 second run. However she actually did it around 4 times just short of the 30 seconds. Had she completed it the first time she would not have wasted time and effort doing it 3 more times. Read the rest of this entry »
Limiting Beliefs – Food for thought.
More to come…..
Free Consultation
Why not find out more about the previous two posts…. A colleague of mine has offered a free consultation at Prohab as will I for coaching. The only stipulation is that you contact us through reading this blog and the offer will last for one month…. Read more on Carlyle at http://prohabperformance.com/ and for coaching go to Coaching
…..And now what is your chronic injury?
Your chronic injury is your excuse, your disclaimer. Not in all cases as some people will have chronic pain and no the reason and others will have it and attend many sessions with a chronic pain psychologist to get help and never find a reason for the pain. However there are a large number of people who’s injury is no more than their mind creating it for them so they have reason not to do stuff.
I have met so many who don’t run because their “knees are bad”. “Cant go to the gym I have a bad back”. “Doctor says no”.
Then again, someone I covered this year in the Marathon des Sables completed the last 3 days with a broken foot, was medical tented on the long day and recovered only when he was told he would get a penalty if he took on an intravenous drip, then on the last day pulled a hamstring which is an acute injury and still ran 20km through sand dunes.
So in essence your chronic injury is your lack of want, need for an excuse and your very good disclaimer……. Sorry for those who have one but I am not too sympathetic.
Look within and look at your life. Many of your injuries will resolve with work on your whole body, mind and nutrition. Look after these and your wants and desires come back……. More to come later
What is your motivation?
Are you fed up in your work, your life?
When you decide on a life change, career change or simply something you would really like to achieve, you need to find your motivation. What is it that drives you? What is it you so badly want to be or do that you were not, or did not do, before?
Most people who decide to run a marathon do so in their mid thirties and are typically NOT runners. They just decide they want to do it. Of all of those, there are a percentage who decide for the wrong reasons and by the third or 4th week of training, usually less, they quit. Then there are those who carry on but get a chronic injury that they cannot explain and that forces them (in their minds) to stop and quit. There are a few who get acute injuries and have no choice but to stop and then there are all those left (the majority) who go on to complete the biggest event of their lives. Until they have done it that is and they realise that yes, even they can do a marathon and they do more……. Read the rest of this entry »
Pelicans… I love them
Online Courses Coming Soon
Stand out in your life; use your photography to get you there....
I will soon be offering online photography workshops and using your skills and your passion we will examine you as a photographer and how this can have a positive impact on your approach to life too. If you want to stick simply to photography this is also possible.
The online courses will work as one to one, group or ad-hoc learning using Skype, internet phone, chat and email. Modules will be completed and tasks set. This coupled with evaluations of your work on a regular basis will allow you to build on your skills, examine you as a photographer and person and enjoy the challenges that life throws at you.
If you are interested please email me or respond to this post… My contact can be found my Junglemoon website along with further information you may need.
