News & Events

1. Excellence or Perfection?

By Nick Formosa

Recently on a run with my wife of 10 years, I asked her a question I had been asking myself for quite some time.  One of the prerequisites for answering the question was that she had to be honest in her response and I also asked that she take a little time to consider her answer.  The question I asked was “Do you think I strive for Perfection or Excellence?” Well, it didn’t take her long to answer and she responded with ‘Perfection’.

I was a little disappointed in her response as I really wanted her to answer “Excellence”. The reason for this is that I know striving for ‘Perfection’ can generally be unrealistic in terms of expectations you put on yourself and others. “Perfectionism” generally leads to disappointment and frustration if you don’t get the result you want. Sometimes it can even lead to quitting. On the other hand, striving for “Excellence” is simply doing your best each day.

My success as a coach can be attributed to the commitment by the athletes to their individual goals and training day in and day out  to achieve what they had set out to, regardless of the circumstances. The most successful athletes therefore, have a mindset of “Excellence”.

A good example of this is my experience in coaching Michael Hepburn, the 2009 Junior Individual Pursuit World Champion and 2010 Elite Teams Pursuit World Champion. In September 2007 I took Michael to the track for the first time. Michael had come to me from a triathlon background about 12 months prior and I had a feeling that he could be a good track pursuiter. We did a trial and he posted a good time for 3,000 metres. From that point we discussed that we would aim for the Junior National Championships for the 3,000 metre Individual pursuit which was in February 2008. The first objective was to make the team in which he had to qualify, at the Queensland Championships in December 2007.  He trained hard each day. With only limited preparation, he qualified at the Queensland Championships and then went on to ride a solid race at the Australia National Championships in which he placed in the top 10 and posted a time of 3 minutes 26 seconds.

Following the National Championships, my thoughts were for Michael to aim for and focus on the Junior Individual Pursuit in 2009, which was in 12 months time.  I researched all of the record times for State, National and World Record times.  I was excited about the prospect of him aiming for the National titles and I hoped Michael would be also.  We discussed the goal I had in mind and he had the same thoughts. We were both committed to achieving the same goal.

In 2009, Michael won the Junior Individual Pursuit at the National Championships. He also won the World Championship and broke the World Record twice (3min 15.85 sec) along the way.  Many people are not aware that along the way he had an accident and broke his wrist which required surgery and resulted in him having 6 weeks off the road prior to the World Championships.

Michael’s commitment to excellence and not perfection, helped him achieve his dreams and goals.

Achieving Success

Some of you who follow American Basketball may know the name John Wooden. He was a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (inducted in 1973). He was the first person ever enshrined in both categories. His ten national championships in a 12-year period while at UCLA are unmatched by any other college basketball coach.  He passed away in June this year just shy of his 100th Birthday.

Inspired by his dedication to the sport as an athlete and coach I have read many of his books on coaching and leadership.  From one of his books called ‘The Essential Wooden’ (Wooden, Jamison 2007) he writes about ‘The Goal and the Promise”. He believes success comes to you as an individual and a leader only when you acquire peace of mind, which is a direct result of self – satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.

It sounds so simple: give it your best - that is success. However it is not simple. Attaining success is elusive, complicated, and extremely difficult.

Wooden also suggests..”For me, success comes before victory. It is the first priority, the great goal. You must make the absolute effort to bring forth your own potential and teach your organization how to do the same. This is the philosophy I adhered to for 40 years as a teacher, coach, and leader”

Excellence and Success in your cycling
    
To bring this back to your cycling, it would be great if we could wake up each day with a mindset of giving 100%;  committing to ‘Excellence’; and following through with your goals and dreams each day. I know  there are days where you can lose sight of and belief in what you are trying to achieve. We have all been there before. However, it is a matter a turning your mindset to a positive one; and turning your desired goal into a belief that you ‘can’ and ‘will’ achieve your dreams with a combination of dedication and effort.

Once you believe in yourself, the belief will turn into a ‘knowing’, and then once it is a knowing, it will soon become your new reality. It may be something as simple as writing your goals on a piece of paper and sticking it somewhere on a wall you can read each day out aloud to yourself. Reading this each day will subconsciously provide your mind with positive subliminal messages. It really is that simple, so you should give it a go and see how it works for you. You may not be where you want to be today but you can still strive to be your best day in and day out to achieve your ultimate goals.