I've worked with Olympians for 4 years, here's 4 things they do that you can implement
This is particularly aimed at business people and executives looking to take themselves to the next level
Four years ago we landed the Olympic team as our first client. I managed to go along to the recent Paris Olympics and our team did exceptionally well.
I’m from New Zealand and we managed to get 20 medals and 10 gold medals, our most in history!
Considering we have 5.3 million people as a country, on a per capita basis we came third in the world.
For context Los Angeles has 4 million people, and London alone has 9 million.
I’ve managed to work alongside the most incredible people, observing and asking them about some of the key things that they can do.
I wanted to share some lessons that you could apply to your own life, particularly if you are in business or an executive of some kind looking to level up your performance.
I’ll share some of the things that I have tried to implement in my own life as a way of prompting ideas for you.
Number 1 - Mindset
There’s a saying at the Olympic gym in New Zealand that I love.
We go hard, then we go harder.
It’s one of the first things that you see when you walk in the doors.
You don’t win an Olympic medal because it’s easy. Heck sometimes doing the best in your country isn’t even barely enough to qualify for the games.
We go hard, then we go harder is all about realising that the work starts when other people tap out. It’s a posture of walking towards the challenge, accepting it and then pushing beyond your own limits.
Like everything they do, this isn’t just about pushing weights or doing long training sessions. It’s about working at your mindset. If you are setting goals, it’s doing that to the best of your ability.
Personally I find it quite refreshing. It’s an environment where intensity is encouraged. Often I find that the individuals are quite curious about themselves, to see what they are capable of.
The other thing is that a lot of this work is done without anyone noticing. It’s pushing hard in training and not really talking about it to anyone.
How I’ve tried to apply this
In a business context, I try to orientate this towards the customer. I start from what the customer needs and then think about how I can pour as much energy towards that goal as I can.
If I’m doing a quote for someone, before I just used to send them a couple of pages on a word document.
Now I send 100 page documents, complete with wireframes, storyboards, project timelines and full project plans.
Does it take more work? Absolutely. I used to do a quote in 30 minutes, now they can take 3 to 4 days to complete.
The end result?
Not only do the clients respond and sign way more quotes than they used to, personally I feel satisfied that I have really pushed myself, pushed the boundary and not accepted good as good enough.
How you can apply this
Set some higher standards for yourself. What are you doing currently that you could actually put in 5 times the effort for?
What would it look like for you to be the best and most effective person at work?
If you run your own business, what does it look like if you raise the level of ambition for yourself and set a goal that is going to stretch and test you.
Number 2 - Journaling
This actually surprised me. I didn’t realise how integral a part of the training process this was. It’s not something that is forgotten about and done at the end of the month.
It’s a consistent, systematic part of the process. In fact, I’ve never seen journaling carried out to the level that athletes do.
Here’s the sort of things that they write about:
Daily training logs with rich detail, detailing all sorts of stats about what was done, how you felt, how you slept, how your body is feeling.
Vivid goals reminding yourself about what you are working towards.
Unpacking the why. I’ve been surprised as to how many athletes are clear on their purpose, realising that actually competition, the ups and the downs - all of it is what they live for.
Short term tasks of things that need to be ticked off.
Reflecting on how you are feeling.
The journals aren’t high tech. They are mostly a large word document, or a physical notebook.
This is definitely something that you can implement in your life.
The benefits
I think this style of journal appeals to me and will to a lot of executives because ultimately it is goal directed. It’s aimed at being the best version of yourself and helping you to achieve excellence.
As a result, the skew of things is more to writing and reflecting with a lens of pushing you towards a goal, as opposed to writing things and getting stuck in your feelings.
How I’ve tried to apply this
Just a make a start on this one. Consistency is the key here. In fact my writing here and on the CubThinkTank (where I post each week) was all started after observing how all the great athletes write things down.
I started writing on a Sunday as a way to reflect on how the week has gone and what the goals are for the week ahead.
How you can apply this
Just start being consistent by writing frequently.
Set some goals and constantly revisit them on a weekly basis
Get in tune with your why. Push yourself deeper to find a reason for where you want to be and what your purpose is.
Don’t make excuses. There is always going to be something that comes up that eats in the time you have available to journal. This is a key part of the process and something that you cannot skip.
Number 3 - The Traffic Light System
This one has been interesting. The traffic light system is all around understanding what your signals are for yourself and then tailoring your intensity around that.
I’ll give you an example.
Green Light
Good to go, feeling physically and emotionally great.
Orange Light
Feeling slightly rundown, burnt out, or might be sick.
Red Light
Feeling extremely terrible. Bed ridden. Completely burnt out.
Then you might have an intensity plan for how you operate in those levels.
Green Light
Go for it. Work hard, long hours, steady commitment and focus. Never missing training or your core goals.
Orange Light
Your goal might be half of your green light goal. If you have a goal to write 4 pieces of content a week, you would now write 2.
You are going to prioritise rest and recovery. In a work setting this might mean switching off completely on the weekend and doing absolutely no work after 5pm.
Red Light
Alright the goal is to get out of this as quick as you can. This can call for some drastic measures. It might mean cutting back from 4 pieces of content to 1 or even none.
It’s putting your health and wellbeing above your main thing. For example, deadlines might have to be extended, you might be taking additional days off.
You might book a vacation.
What I enjoy about the traffic light system is that it is being realistic to the long term demands that most of us face.
I think before working with the Olympic team I would read David Goggins and Kobe Bryant, who would wake up after 4 hours sleep and always brag about the ridiculous things they would do.
I would feel guilty and mad at myself if I wasn’t doing something every single day, even if I didn’t feel that flash.
This creates a classic boom bust scenario, where you have spurts of good weeks, but they are ultimately unsustainable.
The traffic light system acknowledges that you won’t feel 100% every single day, particularly over the next year.
Turns out Olympians don’t operate at green light for 365 days a year. They have periods of intensity and peaking cycles. They know that sometimes the main thing they need to do to get faster is to do nothing at all!
It’s then quite cathartic to have an objective plan for yourself, with the criteria for what each of the traffic light thresholds mean for you.
This method is particularly valuable to people that are over achievers and that have a high work ethic. I’m in this camp, I love what I do and sometimes push myself so hard because I’m enjoying it so much that I complete miss the cues that I am actually tired and grumpy.
How you can apply this
This one takes time. Think about the physical and mental signals of the different versions of you.
Write and describe what it is like when you are at your peak physically and mentally.
Then walk down the chain, writing about what you are like when you are in the orange and red categories.
Now that you have this, you then need to write a plan for what you will do if you notice those signals happening.
Just make a start somewhere. I am still tailoring my traffic light system 4 months on. Funnily enough it’s actually helped me to see the power of breaks on my weekend.
Before when I was working every weekend I noticed how often I was dipping into the orange zone.
Since adding in a buffer of no work and mandatory rest, I’ve managed to have more consistent green days than orange days.
Number 4 - Enjoy the Process and do yourself justice
The Olympics comes around every 4 years. Not only is it not taken for granted that you will even qualify, by the time you get there, you could injure yourself or just have a terrible day when you are competing.
Another thing that athletes talk about is how they could get their PB on an Olympic night and still not get a medal. Clearly that can’t be a failure. Sometimes it’s just not your night.
All of this is far too long of a timeframe to have to go through without enjoying the process.
Enjoying the process means
Being present, enjoy each day for what it is.
Find joy in the day. Write that down, point out the things you are grateful for.
Enjoy the training as much as you enjoy the competition - you’re going to be spending a lot of time training, you might as well have fun with it.
Doing yourself justice means
Don’t aim to just win a medal. That is out of your control if everyone else breaks the world record. Aim to put in your best effort and be content with that.
That means asking yourself, am I committing everything I have to this work or task that I am doing. Am I performing and trying to the best of my ability.
How I applied this in my life
I recently was cured from cancer and I blogged about how big the Paris trip was for me and the journey I went on to get there.
Below are some of my reflections during chemo. I know it seems weird, but I tried my hardest to enjoy the process of chemo and to find joy in the moment even though it was immensely difficult.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed going to watch athletes from all around the world compete at these Olympic games.
Hopefully this article helped you to see some of the process that goes on behind the scenes.
Great lessons. I particularly enjoyed the light system!