By: Flint Wallace
I saw a quote on Twitter the other day from Ryan J. Faer, CSCS:
“Consistent, high-level performance requires consistent, high-level preparation.”
The first thing that popped into my mind after I read this was ‘commitment’. Everyone wants to perform at a high-level, but the separator is the commitment to prepare at a high-level. Commitment should be the first ingredient on anyone’s pursuit of excellence in their performance. Without consistency in preparation, one has inconsistent results more often. Everyone is going to have a day where they are off their game, but with consistent, high-level preparation, those days become fewer, and the degree in which you are off becomes reduced.
There are several areas of preparation you must commit to in order to be consistent in your performance. You must prepare daily in the mental, physical, and technical aspects needed to perform at a high-level. Often, the best become so engaged and committed to their pursuit of excellence, that it becomes their center of life for that time period of preparation and performance. All their decisions are based on, “Will this help me achieve what I want or will it not?” Just remember, “Obsessive is the term the average give to the dedicated.”
Consistent, high-level performers not only commit themselves to their training and performance, but also to adequate recovery. To me, this is the part most missed. Allowing enough time for the body and the mind to regenerate is crucial to high-level performance. One must not only train harder, but they must also train smarter. Good nutrition, hydration, sleep, and regeneration must become as important as every other aspect of your preparation. Rest is not recovery. Your recovery protocol must be high-level and consistent. Recovery between workouts, and performances or games, is often times what separates the good from the average or the great from the good. Recovery will increase your odds of being more consistent.
Being the best you can be is another huge attribute that one must commit to in order to become a consistent, high-level performer. You must learn to try to improve a little each day. You must remember that the real person you are competing against is the one that stares back at you in the mirror. Overcoming the obstacles along the way is what is going to make you successful. And success is when you know you have prepared consistently at a high-level over a sufficient period of time, and you perform consistently at your highest level. Not anyone else’s level, but at your highest level.
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