September 19, 2011

Accomplishing Goals: An athlete’s account

Every year bodybuilding’s greatest athletes grace the Olympia stage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention center is jam packed with supplement and business booths, various events, and thousands of fans. Athletes scurry about the Orleans Hotel and Casino prepping for the stage with tan applications, hair and make-up, condition check-ups, and athlete meetings. For the average vacationing hotel guest it must have been quite a sight.

This year I was honored to grace the 2011 Olympia stage in the Pro Bikini division.  After qualifying the week before at the Tijuana Pro I kept the momentum and excitement rolling right into my first Olympia.

Stepping on the Olympia stage was one of the proudest moments of my life, because it was a representation of who I am, what I stand for, and how I live my life. It’s not about the stage it’s about achieving a meaningful goal.

As athletes we reach for something higher, something beyond our reach at the moment. We see it in the distance and work day in and day out to get closer and obtain the goal.

To achieve goals you have to dig deep within yourself. It’s not about the money, the exposure, or contracts. It’s the feeling that you have the power to alter your current situation and achieve a goal that seems far off in the beginning.

The training and dieting is essential to change your body, but a major piece of the puzzle is your mindset. A positive mindset is going to get you to the gym to conquer challenging workouts, it’s going to help you stick to your diet, and it’s going to encourage you to explore methods to improve and not pass up excellent opportunities as you stride towards your goal.  

It takes a lot of determination and self-discipline to stay focused as you work towards a major goal. It can take weeks, months, or years. I would be lying to you if I said it was easy. It’s not. You work everyday. There are obstacles that you must climb over; there are times that you doubt yourself and question why you started doing all this in the first place.  The ability to keep going is what separates those who succeed and those who don’t.

Here are tips to stay motivated as you work to make your dreams a reality:

• Keep a constant reminder of your goal: I like to create vision boards so I see all the things I desire for myself daily. I look at my board and believe that each and every goal is a possibility and then I search for ways to make it happen.

• Journal: As a writer, a naturally gravitate towards journaling. It is a major release for me. Whatever I’m feeling, whatever is tossing and turning endlessly in mind gets laid out on paper. I write positive affirmations- what I will accomplish. I write how I visualize particular experiences happening. I expect positive things to occur in my life and ask for the strength to be a good person and continue along this journey.

• Plan to succeed: Before qualifying for the Olympia I wrote in my calendar “I am competing at the Olympia.” I had plans to be there before I knew how it was going to happen

• Love the journey: After a big event that I’ve been prepping and planning for has occurred, I become slightly sad and nostalgic. The anticipation and the process was one of the best parts even though it seemed difficult at the time! Look forward to your goal, but enjoy every second along the way. The time will come soon enough, make the most of your time everyday.

• Always work to improve, but stay realistic: When I was younger I used to get so upset if I didn’t play my best in a lacrosse game. My Mom used to say, “there’s always going to be someone better and there’s always someone who is worse than you.” It’s important to know where you’re at, where you can go, but be grateful for how far you’ve come.
• Practice Gratitude: You have the ability to work towards a meaningful goal, not everyone does. Be grateful for what you have and your abilities.
• Meditation: I meditate daily. When you work hard, your mind needs a break. Life can be stressful. Stress can do horrible things to your body and mind. Take a breath and relax. I always tell myself that somehow everything gets done, it works out, it always does.
• Stop looking for the easy way out: When you realize that it’s going to take work and there are going to be challenges you increase your ability to overcome the obstacles. All of a sudden what seemed so foreign and difficult becomes easy soon enough. When it gets easy, ask more of yourself.
• Break out of your comfort zone: When you’re too comfortable and things are easy you can become complacent. Look for ways to shake things up. It’s invigorating. Ask what you’ve always wanted to do, but feared to do. Explore the possibilities of making it happen. Is it worth it? If it is, go for it.
• No one else can affect the way you feel about yourself: If you believe in yourself others will too. It took me a long time to become comfortable with how I live my life, it was difficult being in my young 20s and not following the norm of the bar scene, etc. because I chose to train and eat clean instead. I realized the happiness it brought me, I learned that it wasn’t just what I do, it’s who I am. Being goal oriented is part of my personality. Others should love you for you. Be proud of who you are.

I generally write fitness programs, healthy recipes, the latest research in the industry to help you accomplish your goals, but personally I believe that training and dieting is not the complex entity. There’s a plethora of that information in so many different forms.

I believe the ability to train and diet; work towards your goals consistently with passion is the most important part of anyone’s training regimen. The power to believe in yourself and never give up is a worthy goal.