On CBC radio – Metro Morning
(runs 6:31)Soon I will go to Sochi to continue my work as a mentor to the Canadian Olympic Team. It will be the ninth Olympic Games that I’ve attended, my fourth as a mentor. I’ve been working with some of the Canadian winter athletes since before the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics and I’ve watched them mature from wide-eyed Olympic rookies to Sr. veterans, multi-medalists and Olympic Champions. They have become fabulous athletes and community citizens: there are so many incredible career champions among them. They now, are the role-models and mentors and I am so proud to have had the chance to work with them.
While in Sochi there is no plan for me to be on TV; I’m not there to be a spokesperson or an analyst. My role is to continue to be part of the Canadian Team’s preparation. Much of what I do is subtle and behind the scenes. All the athletes have access to professional mental performance consultants (often sport psychologists) that help them with specific field of play issues. They have coaches and team mates who are with them and support them daily. The mentoring I do is done in broad strokes; I pop in and out of camps and meetings, I send emails, or we exchange txts. I know I don’t connect with everyone on the team but that’s okay, everyone wants and needs different support and guidance. Often I explain my role like this- I offer to take the horses to water; if they drink, or how much they drink, is up to them. Throughout the year I am one of their many resources.
When I first started going to the Olympics in this role it was a huge shift for me. To be frank –
One week into 2014 and, if you’ve set a (or some) resolution(s) you should be 7 days in. Just curious…How’s that going for you?! Statistics on sticking to New Years resolutions are terrible! Depending on what source you look at – the success rate can be only 5-15%. Come on! we can do better than that! Actually starting a task can be the hardest part – I get it – but personally, I don’t understand why people wait until Jan 1. to begin any goal. Goal-achieving can be hard enough without letting the start of the Gregorian Calendar be what pushes your start button. I believe that using the calendar to inspire action is like using a false friend for a buddy; in a pinch – will they go out of their way to back you up when you need it? You want to start something? Start it! You want to change something? Change it!
As you progress it should feel as if you are making choices – not sacrifices.
I’m not saying having New Years Resolutions is wrong. I suppose if having a deadline to finish a goal works so well for me, then having a deadline to start a goal can work for others. In either case, I believe the key to success is in the ownership of the goal itself. No goal will be easy to achieve, but if you believe the goal is yours, something you-want-for-you, then the easier it is to stay committed to. (ex. If a child wants to learn/play a sport/instrument then they are far more likely to stay committed to the training than a child whose parents want them to play that sport/instrument. Or… A person has to want to quit smoking for them self first. The goal of quitting because other people want you to, or you think other people want you to is so much harder. )
The more involvement you have in the initial planning, instigation and performance of a goal the more motivation, commitment and accountability you’ll have as you progress along your goal-achieving path. When that is the case, as you progress it should feel as if you are making choices that will help achieve your goal – not that you are making sacrifices that will ‘ruin your day’. This isn’t exclusive to adults. Too often I hear stories where parents have, with best intentions, taken care of all of the planning, the start date and even a lot of the ‘tricky’ or more challenging elements of a goal/task that belongs to their child and then they wonder why their child has no commitment to it. Continue reading
As the year 2014 begins – to many it is the first day of 365, but to the group of athletes that I work with it means that there are just 37 days until they begin the biggest test of their lives. As spectators, we see a collage of personal interest stories, a concern for social and security issues and we can’t wait to see the Olympic drama unfold. The sincerity, genuine emotions, and consequence of Olympic sport is hard to match. The athletes who will be competing there – they FEEL the Games approaching; their hearts beat faster with anticipation, their eyes gleam at the thought of what could be and they catch their breath knowing that there will be no second chances.
I want nothing more than for our Canadian Team to know that they are ready when they get to Sochi. Even though each Olympic experience is one-of-a-kind, I believe that sharing with them the experiences of athletes who have walked their path before them is the best tool for them to make their own choices and live up to their potential. For that reason – I chose a story that is all about learning, improving and beating the “big bad wolf”.
In all of our lives we have a “big bad wolf”. That challenge that ‘huffs and puffs’ – pushing and challenging us. In a perfect world we’d never receive a scratch, but on most goal achieving paths we’d have to admit that the wolf might blow down a few of our houses. That’s okay, as long as we take each ‘battle’, learn from it and come back stronger. That’s how, in the end we ‘win the war’ and achieve our goals.
Happy New Year, Marnie
Happy New Year! ( La version française suite )
Four years ago I had Brian Stemmle, 4x Alpine Olympian speak to the Figure Skating team. He was a huge hit. His story had incredible impact on them and I’d like to recount it for you.I love Brian’s career story – it has all the key bits of an intense drama; podium finishes, a torso-ripping-pelvis-snapping-near-death fall and an incredible comeback. Respectfully, I can’t help but think that my friend’s Olympic prep story closely resembles the fable of the Three Little Pigs, which is really is about learning from set-backs and challenges and getting better and stronger with each successive try. Continue reading