CONSISTENCY / PERFECTION

What performance goals have you set for yourself for this part of your competitive season?

Over the course of the past few months, I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with many figure skaters across the country and one of the common performance goals they have all shared is their desire to increase consistency over the course of their season. Can you relate?

When I work with my clients, I like to explore the conversation of how they define consistency. For instance, does it mean that more than 50% of the time they are applying consistent efforts to achieve their long-term goals? Or does it mean that greater than 50% of the time there is a measurable, desired outcome achieved.

In the world of skating, consistency can be measured by the number of times they properly execute a jump/spin/lift or how many programs in practice/competition are “clean” (void of errors). But I like to challenge my athletes to think more about what happens before the desired outcome can be achieved. Efforts must be prioritized in order for those outcomes to be obtainable. Which efforts can they control? What barriers challenge the likelihood of those efforts being made?

In the world of nutrition, consistent action steps and applied efforts motivated by the goal(s) – e.g., energy levels during sport, increased endurance, or changes in body composition – are ultimately going to create a greater likelihood to achieving them.

How consistent have your efforts been lately as it relates to your long-term goals – performance or nutrition-based?

Do you need help determining what small efforts related to nutrition might contribute to the accomplishment of your goals? Consider the following:

- Am I giving myself a consistent amount of time to accomplish my goals?

- Am I giving myself consistent and reliable tools to be successful with accomplishing my goals?

- Am I giving myself consistent accessibility to fueling/recovery type foods?

- Am I giving myself consistent grace to make mistakes and learn from them versus blaming myself?

Striving for consistency is a means towards accomplishing a goal, but is a standard we set for ourselves that is different than perfection. In the words of Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Consistent effort towards a goal may not yield perfection, but are guaranteed to produce excellence as defined by the quality of our habits and level of persistence put in each day. With many of my clients, I think it is important to stress the flexibility of knowing when to have an 80/20 view of their nutrition versus a 100/0 idealization. Why? Because we can trust that our body is adaptable, because our desires can be balanced with the confidence that we have put in the consistent effort over time, and because just as in skating, we have the tenacity to pick ourselves back up after a fall and simply move forward.

So, remember – consistency, not perfection is key to manifesting your aspirations. 

Need help determining what consistent efforts you could apply to your current nutrition habits to yield excellence? Contact me to support you in those efforts if you believe nutrition could be a piece of the puzzle to your success next season.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

~ Aristotle