Five Traits of Successful Athletes Part I:

As the Endurance Training Systems Coordinator at the Talisman Centre and having been a training advisor/coach for close to 9 years now, I wanted to share some thoughts regarding what traits or qualities those who have achieved their goals have demonstrated and embodied from my years of coaching and training. Of course there are more than the five I muse about in this short writing, but these five traits or qualities stand out for me and I have found them to be intertwined with one another. Note that I am not about to presnt physiological traits of successful athletes - there are more than enough great review articles that have been published over the years for many sporting disciplines to cover those "traits". I will share two at this time and present the others in another post so as to keep from being too long winded.

Passion

Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. Passion often applies to lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity or love. -Wikipedia

It is not enough to simply “want” something. There needs to be some “spark” or desire, purpose perhaps to pursue a goal either in life or sport. I have worked with 100+ individual athletes over the past 10 years and what differentiates those who succeed from those who don’t is their passion. To get up at 5am and run when it is cold and dark outside or to sit on the indoor trainer for several hours is not for everyone. Those who have passion see beyond the wish to sleep in and the boredom of being indoors and continue to focus on “why” they are doing the training. Every workout has a purpose including rest and they embrace that train of thought which yields mental strength that is often counted upon when the chips are down on race day. Once they have achieved their goal(s) the passionate ones look back and see how those training sessions contributed to their achievement making the experience more rewarding and meaningful to them. For those who simply go through the motions, cut workouts short, miss workouts on a regular basis, make excuses for why they can’t do this or that are often the ones who don’t understand why they failed to achieve their goal(s) and often finger point to external reasons. Always understand clearly why you are training or working towards something and make sure they are for strong personal reasons rather than just to do something because others are doing it.

Commitment

Personal commitment, interaction dominated by obligations. These obligations may be mutual, or self-imposed, or explicitly stated, or may not. …personal commitment, which is often a pledge or promise to ones' self for personal growth. Being bound emotionally/intellectually to a course of action. - Wikipedia

I firmly believe that both commitment and passion are heavily intertwined and could be argued that without one you can not truly have the other. The successful athletes I have worked with show high levels of personal commitment towards the achievement of their goals which is fueled by their passion to fulfill their goals. For those who sign up one year in advance for an Ironman triathlon that is a huge first step towards a commitment to completing that event. However beyond registering for it the tough part lies in the physical and mental preparation required to fulfill it and many participants haven’t explored their reasons for doing the Ironman and how that decision can affect those around them. One must become committed to being in the pool by 6am for the coached swim session, one must commit to eating the right foods at the right time to support their daily training and general energy needs and one must be committed to getting to sleep earlier to rest the body and mind etc. With the commitment to doing the things required to successfully prepare for the event, the likelihood of having a “great” day is increased.

For many with a family or a meaningful relationship the commitment to preparing for the event extends beyond the personal realm as the loved one’s who are supporting you are often the one’s who sacrifice the most. One must realize that doing 4-6 hour rides on weekends for a period of time is required preparation which means that loved one’s will be often left behind to do other things. Add to this the recovery time required after such arduous training which may limit what activities can be done with loved one’s. There is also a large financial commitment to consider with travel, accommodation, equipment, nutrition perhaps coaching etc. If they are supportive of your goal(s) in doing an event always remember that you are not just committed to yourself, but you are also making a commitment to your loved one’s to ensure your time spent away from them and the financial outlay is productive and will increase the likelihood of success on the big day.

Jack