Are You Short-Changing Yourself?

Why do some people become elite sports people and others don't?

For example, why is Tiger Woods so good?

Is it genetic?
Is it luck?
Is it hard work?

According to new research by Geoff Colvin (in his book "Talent Is Overrated"), it is none of these.

It is "deliberate practice".

Deliberate practice is constantly working on the skills you need to have to be the best in your field. It also involves monitoring your progress and getting a coach/mentor who can push, guide and help you improve.

Earl Woods (Tiger's father) was not a champion golfer. He was a golf fanatic who practiced and practiced to achieve a very low handicap. He used to spend hours hitting golf balls into a net in his garage and, as a baby, Tiger was in his high chair constantly watching him. By the age of two, Tiger was regularly at the golf course with his father practicing and playing golf. With much practice, and with professional coaching from age 4, his skills developed.

Today, while the good golfers spend much time practicing, Tiger takes it one step further. He practices all those hard to do shots. For example, most golfers will throw balls into a sand bunker and practice hitting them out. Tiger takes this one step further and walks across the balls in the bunker so they are completely buried.

"Why would he do that?" I hear you ask.

Because during one of his tournament rounds he may just hit a ball into a sand trap and the ball becomes completely buried. He needs to be able to play the ball out with great precision.

Let's Take This A Step Further ...

I divide sports people into four types - and to keep this simple I'm reducing them to three:

1. The Casual
   
2. The Amateur
   
3. The Professional

The Casual - they hardly do any training and are able to play in competition at the weekend. It's all a bit of fun and they are there for the social side and some fitness.

The Amateur - they train around twice a week and need to do so if they want to play well in competition. They're keen to do well. They also have a paid job which takes up much of their time.

The Professional - they have set their goal to be the best. They train four to five times a week, hire a trainer/coach, study how food affects performance, study how their thinking affects the way they perform and are committed to continually improve. For them, training is hard work. Because of their dedication, this is generally a full time occupation.

How Is This Relevant To Your Life?

A great question.

Of the three groups - the Casual, the Amateur and the Professional - which one are you when it comes to:

• Your working life?

Do you just rock up to work and do what you have to do or do you study how to get the most out of yourself and your business?

• Your relationship with a loved one?

Are you casual and hope it will survive or do you study how to get the best out of it so it is forever improving?

• Your health and fitness?

Do you exercise when you can fit it in, eat too much junk food and say you need to change or do you constantly learn and implement ways on how to be healthier? Do you have a program in place to ensure you stay healthy - both mentally and physically?

• Your emotional self?

Do you simply coast through life and put up with the up's and down's or do you constantly look to improve the way you think and behave?

While I have listed some of the key areas of life above, there are many others you may like to consider - a hobby, sport, financial security and your spirituality to name a few.

Sadly, the majority of people fall into the Casual group for all of the above. They simply coast through life without giving any thought to what they eat, drink, consume or how they behave. Life is often a roller coaster and while they complain, they seldom do anything about their problems.

Many fall into the Amateur group. They are keen to learn how to improve the way they feel and do things. They spend some time reading books, attending seminars and watching dvd's on relevant topics. This group often makes the mistake of failing to implement what they learn as they have so many things going on in their life.

The minority fall into the Professional group. They set time aside to learn how to improve aspects of their life. They put their knowledge into action and are committed to forever improving. They have a game plan for life and will ensure they achieve it. They often hire a coach or a mentor to ensure they are on track and they are forever learning and improving.

Are you short-changing your life by falling short of your potential?

If you are, it's time to take stock and ask yourself the following ...

Question

How committed are you to becoming your best in all your key areas of life?