Trust the process

Trust the process... the outcome will take care of itself!

I recently ran a workshop here about setting goals, making them SMARTER.  But athletes so often get hung up on the outcome:

• I want to win
• I want to qualify for Kona
• I want to break 5 hours for the IRONMAN 70.3

“You can't control the outcome. What you can do, however, is influence the outcome by controlling the process.” – David Brailsford

If you want to achieve your goals then you need to focus on and trust the process...

Why does Coach Paul constantly say, "Focus on the process?"

It takes a goal and breaks it down into smaller manageable segments.  A checklist if you will.

If you work your way through each of those steps on the checklist you will come out with your result.  Just think of the result and you will miss a step... it might be something simple, like eat something... ooops... forgot.  Not going to be able to catch that up and your race is falling away from you.

If you focus on the outcome of an event, its a massive task... big tasks create anxiety, stress, they take the mind away from where it needs to be. 

However, if you complete all the tasks on your checklist... you focus on being positive, you feel a sense of achievement as you work through your process.

So what's the process?

Well its different for everyone, at different races... but here are some examples:

• Pre race - do your warm up, focus on you.  Don't do a half hearted job because your talking to your mates. 
• Sort your transition out nice and early, then get out of there... don't stress, you have done it 100 tiems in training... yes you have, every turbo session, every swim session, every run session.  You know what to do!
• Get into your wetsuit nice and early... don't rush it, not have it on properly and reduce your performance in the swim... thus comprimising your race.
• Stick to your race plan... you wrote it, you went through it with your coach... now FFS work through it to the best of your ability.

Sounds like its over the top?

Hang on... you have spent how many hours, how many days, weeks or months training for this event.  YOU deserve to give YOURSELF the best opportunity to have YOUR best race possible.  Don't throw it away by not following the process! 

Its not over the top in the slightest.  Its coaching gold dust.

Of course, for an outcome based athlete, who just wants to “win,” the process appears a waste of time. 

Now THE PROCESS is not just about race day.

The process is the whole journey you have been on to get to race day AND then the race itself.  The process is EVERYTHING that YOU can CONTROL.

Have you done every session as planned?  Did you do your best to get enough sleep, eat the right food, clean your bike, look after your equipment.   The process is what you do in training and to support your development as an athlete, EVERY day.

Is your bag packed to go to the pool in the morning?  Do you have all your kit?  Is the alarm set?  Simple things... but if you forget to set the alarm... that simple thing on the checklist... you will miss the session.

The process does not have to be complicated.  You do have to believe in it, take ownership of it and then trust it!