Are You Willing to Get the Work Done

“To be great is not how good you are, it is how well you train and prepare.”
    AG Kruger III, 3x USA Olympian, Hammer Throw

The last time I visited Ashland University, I took a picture of a quote written into one of the support beams.  The quote was written by AG Kruger III.  He is a 3x USA Olympian in the Hammer Throw.  He wrote this before he left Ashland as he made the transition from athlete to coach.

As AG mentioned on Instagram, how well we train and prepare is not just a mindset or methodology about track and field or throwing, but a reminder for the challenges and obstacles we face on a daily basis.  Our willingness to prepare for life will be an indication of how great (at something) we might become.

A lot can be said about the willingness to prepare, how our training is structured, and the limits we are willing to endure along our own unique journey.  It is in that willingness to sacrifice where the great separate themselves from the good and the good from the average.  But, are you willing to train well and prepare for the struggles and obstacles that we may encounter along our path?

Recent research suggests that athletes that are willing to endure and persist through extreme adversity or have a willingness to do whatever it takes identified as being more mentally prepared for the rigors of training and competition (Wilson et. al., 2019).  Similarly, Jaeschke and colleagues (2016) found individual sport athletes are more accustomed and willing to take a greater initiative to push boundaries of extreme measures to satisfy their athletically related aspirations.  Much of what one is willing to endure is going to be reflected in their performances, whether athletic or in life in general.  

In order to better prepare oneself for the rigors of training, research has reported that to persevere, gain perspective, and to engage in preparation, a sense of presentness was required to navigate times in which distractions may impede training on our journey (Wilson et. al., 2016).  What distinguishes those that achieve greatness from those that don’t satisfy their aspirations is the notion of being present and fully engaged without distraction with the task at hand (training, throwing, weightroom), rather than to simply be going through the proverbial motions (Kaiseler et. al., 2009; Nicholls et. al., 2008).

In order to sustain a perspective centered on preparedness and a willingness to overcome, another central tenet in the literature has been reported about gratitude and being grateful for opportunities and experiences that generate meaning and purpose in one’s life (Gucciardi, Jackson, Hanton, & Reid, 2015).  Athletes that value growth and development in their respective sports have higher perceived mental toughness compared to their peers not valuing the growth aspects of development within their respective sports (Dweck, 2015; Gucciardi et. al., 2015).  Practicing gratefulness is a topic that has been widely discussed across many genres of literature from such authors as; Jon Gordon (Energy Bus), Kate Leavell (Stick Together), Carol Dweck (Growth Mindset), Greg Everett (Tough; Olympic Weightlifting), Lou Holtz (former ND Football coach), Amber Selking (Selking Performance Group), and  Rick McGuire (former University of Missouri Track and Field Coach).

As a prompt for practicing gratefulness, a strategy you can incorporate is as follows.  

Every morning upon waking up, write down 2-5 things you are grateful for.  I write mine down in a gratitude journal that I have with me all the time.  I usually write them down during breakfast.  The purpose behind the prompt is to think about your life and recognize the things you are appreciative of.  I usually write down 4 or 5 because I have two that are the same everyday.  The idea is to think about aspects of your life, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, that you are truly appreciative of and why.  An important aspect in the development and continuation of this habit is to write down why you are grateful for those things in your life.  Why are you grateful for this part of your life?  What meaning or value does it bring to you?  If it wasn’t a part of your life how would it affect you?