If you want better results for your athletes, forget about setting goals. Instead, concentrate on your system. That’s what James Clear meant when he said that we don’t rise to our goals, but instead, fall to the level of our system.

Parents frequently believe that their athletes will “figure it out” and achieve whatever goal they set. Yes. The goal is critical. It is critical for athletes to have goals. In fact, that’s one of the most important things we do within the competitor programs.

However, we must develop systems to support that goal. And this is where habits come into play. 

Time widens the gap between success and failure. Whatever you feed it will multiply. And time becomes your ally when you have GOOD habits. 

We can’t assure our daughter’s destiny. Our daughters have to choose their habits, and their habits choose their fate.

So, here are some WINNER habits our daughters can fall for to map out their destiny.

A Daily Mental Routine

It doesn’t have to be outlandish or intense. Mental training on a daily basis does not require a lot of time. We teach them in our program to give at least three to ten minutes of their time each day.

What’s amazing is that these little tiny habits they’re developing every day are compounding. In our program, we teach routines such as:

• Visualization
• Breath Work
• Affirmations

And I’m sure you’ve heard of the 1% rule, which states that a 1% improvement every day will result in massive change over time. These small little improvements will all change the trajectory of your daughter’s success. Every single day, that 1% is like a graph; it rises and rises. In contrast, if she did nothing, she would be on the opposite side. She’d be on her way down.

With these routines, she is not only compounding but also creating the habit of who she wants to become. Because if she wants to achieve these goals, she must do a variety of things.

She is preparing herself by doing something for her mindset on a daily basis. She’s demonstrating to herself that she’s the type of person who can keep her word.

Most athletes will say, “I’ll feel confident once I make the varsity team.” “Once I get that, then I’ll feel this-” is always the refrain. In our daily lives, we do the same thing. 

However, it has the opposite effect. Doing the Be-Do-Have method is the correct way. Athletes must first be the type of person they want to be. If they want to accomplish the goal of playing all four years or making the varsity team, they must first become that self-assured version of themselves.

Being Intentional With the 22 Hours

Your daughter spends two to three hours per day on average training for her sport, which leaves plenty of time. She has 22 hours where she is not actively training. Elite athletes who are reaching their full potential are deliberate in their use of those 21 to 22 hours. Because it’s the recovery period, they’re being very deliberate.

Athletes lift, just like in physical training, and their muscles are broken down as a result. Muscles are being stretched and destroyed in a beneficial way. That’s normal because muscle growth occurs during the recovery period. This is well known in physical training, but it also applies to mental training. 

What your athlete prioritizes during those 22 hours will have an impact on how she performs. It is during the non-competition period that thoughts, vision, and planning take place. It is critical that these items be pre-loaded:

• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Hydration
• Mindset/thoughts

Taking Charge of Their Training

It is a habit for them to take ownership and decide to prioritize what they are focusing on. Keep in mind that moms play a role in this. Your job is to shape the environment through how you present yourself, what you say to yourself, and what you say to her. It is up to you to provide opportunities for her physical and mental training, such as ECP. That is your responsibility. She does, however, play a role in this. You can do all of that, but it will never be enough to compensate for her doing the mindset work on her own.

You are welcome to visit any of our clinics. You can listen to all of our podcasts. You can put everything we’re teaching you into practice.

However, we can’t ask our athletes to do something they haven’t been given the chance to do. As a result, provide her with the opportunity to work on her mindset. You must give her the opportunity to do those things, and you must relinquish some control in order for that to happen.

Having Systems in Place to Support Their Habits

Your athlete requires systems that will help her develop good habits. She must be surrounded by the following:

• Accountability
• Mentorship
• Plan to be followed

We become like our surroundings. So, if we constantly reinforce to our daughters that they are in control of their outcomes, they will be in control of changing their thoughts.

We can’t just expect our athletes to sink or swim because she will almost certainly sink. But if we surround them with people like in the elite competitor programs, with Kristina, myself, and other athletes are doing similar things, she will be held accountable. She’s checking in and sticking to her plan. She is not required to come up with ideas on her own.

So, to summarize the three high-performance habits that all athletes require:

• They require a daily mental routine.
• They must be deliberate with the remaining 22 hours.
• They must take ownership of their training, and they must be given the opportunity to do so.

Then, as a bonus, they must be surrounded by encouragement, accountability, mentorship, and an easy-to-follow plan.

That is a winning formula!

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