Build Better Performance Habits And Achieve Your Goals

You Want Change, but Is Your Foot on the Accelerator or the Brake? 5 Ways to Hit the Accelerator.

We all know there are challenges outside our control. But there are also many things that remain within our control.

Things we can change, want to change, and know it’s time to change.

So, for what it’s worth, here are five simple performance habits from the folks who know what it takes to constantly change, redefine, adapt, innovate, move forward and achieve goals.

1. STOP focusing solely on goals — START building systems that support them

Setting a goal but continuing to do the same things will likely get you the same results.

Motivation might carry you through the first few days, but then what? You get tired, life gets in the way, and before long you’re back doing what’s familiar.

Set your goal. It establishes direction. Then focus on building the small daily habits and systems that consistently move you towards it.

For example, if your goal is to get fitter or lean down, that’s great. But what are the small actions you need to put in place to move incrementally towards that goal?

And I want to encourage you to think really small.

Visual cues such as workout clothes laid out ready, running shoes by the door or oatmeal on the breakfast counter can be crucial building blocks in a system that supports the change you want to make.

We use sticky notes to remind us to pack new items in the team kit. Eventually, when something is repeated often enough, it becomes part of the routine.

Make the right actions easier to take, and you’re already moving in the right direction.

2. STOP thinking you need to make big changes — START with 1% improvements

If you improve by 1% every day in an area of your life, you’ll be astounded by how much further you’ve travelled in a year’s time.

Small, consistent actions accumulate. It’s an effective, achievable way to make progress without feeling that you have to change everything at once.

Big goals are rarely achieved in one giant leap. They’re achieved by stringing together those humble 1% improvements, day after day.

Have you got 1%?

We think you have.

3. STOP trying to break a bad habit — START building the habits you want

Habits are repeated actions that, over time, become increasingly automatic. Your brain is pretty smart that way. The more it can automate, the less conscious effort you need to put into familiar tasks.

Think about training on the same route or driving the same way to work. Eventually, you don’t have to consciously think about every turn. You just make them.

In many ways, our lives are an accumulation and reflection of our habits.

So, start linking together the actions that build the habits you want. The more you consciously repeat them, the more established they become.

When you build new habits that support the direction you want to go, old habits can gradually lose their hold. You don’t always have to fight them head-on; sometimes, you can change the pattern by giving yourself something better to practise.

I’ve heard it said that breaking a longstanding habit is like uprooting a tree, whereas starting a new habit is like planting a seed.

I like that.

Better to plant a seed and nurture what you want to grow.

Remember the 1% improvement rule. Be patient, accept that some repetition can be a little boring, and keep showing up for the habit you want to build.

4. STOP focusing on volume — START focusing on effectiveness

If you have a performance goal, whether in your personal life, at work or in sport, you’re better off applying your effort strategically rather than simply applying more effort.

We live in a culture of more, higher, longer, harder.

But ask yourself: are you getting better, or are you simply getting more exhausted?

Quantity doesn’t make up for a lack of quality.

Yes, this comes from a team that values going longer and reaching further. But our training and preparation are targeted and effective so that, when we race, we can actually reach further.

We don’t live there every day.

There’s a difference between working hard and working effectively. Knowing where to apply your effort — and when to allow yourself to recover — is part of the process.

5. STOP celebrating only big successes — START celebrating small wins

Celebrate your daily wins and your 1% improvements. They accumulate over weeks and months, and each one is worth acknowledging.

When you celebrate those wins, you add another note to your folder of self-esteem. Before long, that folder will be bursting at the seams.

We take stock every night of the things that went well, the ways we showed up and the effort we applied.

No matter how badly a day has gone, there’s usually something positive to acknowledge. It might not be a big achievement. It might simply be that we kept going, made a good decision or did the best we could with what we had.

Those things count, too.

And the more you recognise them, the easier it becomes to see just how far you’re travelling.

So, where’s your foot?

You don’t have to change everything overnight. You don’t need to wait for the perfect moment, a surge of motivation or a completely clear run at life.

You just need to start.

Build a system that supports what you want to achieve. Look for your 1% improvement. Plant the seeds of the habits you want to grow. Apply your effort where it matters, and remember to celebrate the small wins along the way.

The big things rarely happen all at once.

They happen because of all the little things we do, consistently, when nobody’s watching.

So, if there’s something you want to change, ask yourself: is your foot on the accelerator or the brake?

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Whether you’re working towards a big race goal or simply want to get more from your cycling, progress comes from having the right systems in place and making them work for you.

Joe’s coaching brings together structured training, experience and the detail that makes a difference, helping you prepare with purpose and perform at your best when it matters.

Train with Joe and start building towards your next goal.