Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/588318
F r e e S O A P n o t e s w i t h M a s s a g e B o o k f o r A B M P m e m b e r s : a b m p . u s / M a s s a g e b o o k 23 visit abmp.com Here are some tips on how to take inspiration and lessons from how athletes set goals, train, and win, and apply them to setting goals (and winning!) in your own practice. GET INSPIRED Les Sweeney: The first step in going for gold is setting your vision. What will the big finish look like? What do you want to celebrate? What great performances inspire you? As therapists, many of us take our inspiration from our clients—think about that favorite client of yours, that elderly woman who makes the effort to receive massage. What heights will you reach this coming year, and how can her story help you improve? What do you want to achieve that will make her say, "That's my therapist!"? Goals will come soon enough (like in a few paragraphs), but motivation is more than a goal—it is what drives you to get up and do the work every day. What motivates you? CHOOSE YOUR EVENT Kristin Coverly: Now that you're inspired and ready to medal (thanks, Les), it's time to choose your event— or the area(s) of your practice you want to improve, change, or add to. Olympic athletes—and you—can use a few different strategies to choose events. The most logical is to pick something you excel at, or have some natural talent for, and work to get even better at it. I refer to the other as "The Jamaican Bobsled Philosophy." Pick something you don't know anything about and have never done before and put your heart and soul into doing the best you can (and most likely inspire a heartwarming movie along the way). How does this apply to you and your practice? Well, when you're choosing your events for the upcoming year, why not go for a decathlon and select a mix of areas to work on? I'm doing this along with you this year, so as I'm planning my Biz-Olympics, I'm going to enter myself in a few different events: one I want to get even better at (client education) and my "Jamaican Bobsled" event (a new modality—still to be determined). How will you choose your own events? Dream about what you want your practice to be and then analyze what you need to strengthen, improve, or add to get there. SET GOALS LS: See, I told you goals would come soon enough J. Goals are where you get more specific—in the Olympics, a 1,500-meter runner might say, "I want to make the semifinals," or, "I want to medal." Every runner wants to win gold, but we know only one gets to. Not everyone at the Olympics is a threat to win a medal, and many set personal goals that might not include appearing on the medal stand. However, goals have a neat way of driving you to excel. My classmate in college, Paul Ereng, qualified for the Seoul Olympics in the 800-meter run, but he was not expected to contend. They forgot to tell Paul; his epic finishing kick pushed him past the top three runners, and he won the gold medal. Will you go for the gold medal this year or just be happy to be in the race? There is no wrong answer—it's your race. But take some time to think about what you want to achieve—and be specific; your goal needs to be measurable. Who knows, you just might surprise yourself. But be careful—there is a cost to realizing your dreams. After the Olympics, everyone noticed if Paul showed up late for class. GET A COACH KC: Olympic athletes don't make it to the Wheaties box on their own. Nadia Com neci had Béla Károlyi, and the Miracle on Ice hockey team had Herb Brooks, right? Every athlete has a team of people helping them through every step of the process. Same goes for you. As you're setting goals and creating change, be sure to surround yourself with your own success pit crew. Who do you need? Your perfect team will vary based on your goals: some of your Biz-Olympics events might need support from an accountant, or practice bodies, or a strong mentor. Form a wellness crew, too, to help you stay emotionally and physically strong and balanced as you create these changes in your practice and life. Ideally, you and a colleague would be teammates in this process and support each other as you work on your individual goals throughout the year. Bottom line: identify the areas in which you need support and don't be afraid to ask for help! CREATE YOUR TRAINING PLAN LS: One of the most useful sayings I've ever heard (I know, I think I've written this before, but it's still awesome) is, "Fail to plan, and you plan to fail." I heard this when I was a kid, and in spite of the potato salad between my ears at the time, it sunk in, and has made a world of difference in my life. At the Olympics, four years of training culminate in an event that can be as short as 10 seconds! If you have that Need a coach? We're here for you! Email us at bizfit@abmp.com with questions.