Great by Choice
A few weeks ago I was lucky to come out of retirement and perform at PSO Southwest in Fort Worth. Returning to the competition stage after a hiatus was such a fulfilling experience. This competition differed vastly from all of my previous competitions. The biggest difference was my goals, which were primarily fitness oriented. I knew that losing weight and improving my health would have a significant impact on my performance ability because of the increases in strength and endurance – in conjunction with carrying less weight. Other than improving my fitness, my only goals were to not stress and perform my best! Being that my goals were different this time around, I went into the competition already a winner for having accomplished the fitness goals I set. And because of this shift in focus, I had the opportunity to approach my competition training from a different angle and truly prepare for competition.
In the past, my competition prep has been almost non-existent. Between school, work and often working as a staff member or as a designer for the competition, I was left with very little time to actually prepare choreography and practice a routine. I always went into the competition having run my routine (or lack thereof) less than five times, not having a solid plan of attack, forgetting my first 30 seconds of choreo once on stage and feeling like I wasn’t as serious as my fellow competitors.
This time around, my prep was primarily done in gym and in the kitchen. The time that I did spend on the pole was focused on stretching and running through key combos. The months prior to competition I was able to shed about 15 excess pounds and build muscle through daily cardio and weight training – in addition to teaching 4-6 classes a week. I was also able to maintain a relatively clean eating habit. Usually, I fall back to my not-so-healthy eating habits, consuming fast food and all kinds of carbs (mmmmm, carbs) the week and DAY of competition. MY DEDICATION THIS TIME AROUND WAS THE BEST IT’S EVER BEEN.
This preparation reinforced my belief and understanding that nothing happens by chance. Those competitors that win and that just slay the stage are great by choice and not by chance. You can get up there and wing it (and there’s nothing wrong with that) and hope for the best, but those that step on that stage prepared radiate that preparation; letting in shine through in their performance. It’s no accident that some aerialists find themselves on the winner’s podium. The same can be about those that seem to progress faster than others. You really do get out what you put into it. Those that invested countless hours of practice; visualized over and over again; recorded, watched and re-recorded; sought out input and feedback; practiced the way they wanted to perform; they made a lasting impression. I am a firm believer that you must train the way you want to perform. When you do, it just becomes second nature.
I named this post after one of my all-time favorite books by Jim Collins. In the book, he examines the journey and success of top companies in comparison to rivals that have not seen the same success despite relatively similar environments.
