One Day at A Time

2 Minute Read

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” – Walter Elliot

As athletes, we all have ambition.

We all have an innate drive to achieve something great - and it fuels us. It’s part of what makes us great. But of course, there’s a downside to ambitious goals.

If we focus too much on the big, ultimate goal we’d like to accomplish, it is very easy to become overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work it’ll require. Because all goals worth achieving are A LOT of work.

So what’s the answer?

Zoom In

Naturally, the BIG goal is the one we like to spend time think about. It’s the satisfying one. The one that, if achieved, seems as though it would bring us closer to being the type of athlete (or person) we want to be.

But how does any goal like that get achieved? We all agree - it’s daily effort.

Fundamentally, if we do the right thing each day, it will become unreasonable to not eventually achieve our ultimate goal. The key, then, is where we’re placing our attention.

Place attention on today. Not tomorrow, not Saturday’s long run, not race day. Today.

Each day is it’s own battle. And thinking this way is SO much more manageable than trying to comprehend the total work involved with massive goals. This provides us a framework we can stick to - do the right thing, today. And if we adopt this mindset, the days will compound. It will truly become inevitable that we achieve what we’re working towards.

Build a Routine You Love

Adopting this mindset will allow us to build a routine we love, and train consistently. How?

Fueling Your Passion: When we focus on each day as its own unique challenge, we can live each day with intentionality. We don’t need to wait weeks, days, or months to achieve something great. Our goals are set for the day, and we tackle them. This is motivating, and creates a positive feedback loop that never needs to end.

Building Mental Strength: The best way to build anything is by doing a little more, every day. And if we’re focusing on every day as its own challenge, mental resilience will be the natural byproduct.

Enjoyment for the Sport: Every day will now have wins, and losses. Wins are great. Losses are great too, because we get to come back from them. And when every day is its own challenge, this feedback loop is much faster, increasing the enjoyment we get from the sport.

Final Thoughts

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”

Focus on today. Each day has its own goal. And if we can overcome each daily challenge, eventually we'll get where we want to be.