I AM AN ATHLETE.
If you’re reading this, you’re an athlete, or at least are thinking about it. The way that we define athletes is someone who is moving systematically toward a physical performance goal. That goal might be fairly broad (“I want to get faster”), or it might be fairly narrow (“I want to be top-5 in my age group in a race on October 25th”).
Let’s break that down:
– “Systematically” means you’re using a plan. You aren’t just going out whenever you feel like it and doing whatever the hell you want.
– “Physical performance” means your goal is to get faster, stronger, go farther, or generally get more capable. Performance is different from the other two most common reasons for exercising, which are aesthetics (looking better) and health (physical and mental).
NOTE: You CAN be an athlete even if your main goal involves health or aesthetics as long as performance is your avenue. For example, if you set a goal to get faster because you know that by following the process to get faster you’ll get healthier, you’re still an athlete working towards a specific goal.
NOTE: There are a lot of non-athletes with athlete-like speed/abilities. Chances are if they’re fast without being an athlete, they’d be quite a bit faster with structure!
I AM AN ATHLETE.
An identity is one of the most important facets of this journey. How do you describe yourself? Daughter? Husband? Runner? One of our goals at SEA is that one of your answers is, “I AM AN ATHLETE”. We know that your identity informs your habits and your choices. BUT, we also know that for many of us, identifying as an athlete can be tough! We have many cultural narratives that associate “athlete” with “professional” or “elite,” and so how could we normal people be in that same category!
Identities are important. All humans have a deep desire and drive to be consistent internally and externally. Thus, if you believe deep down (internal) that you are an athlete, you will be driven to make choices (external) consistent with those of what you consider an athlete to be. Eating better will be easier, because that’s what athletes do. Training better will be easier, because that’s what athletes do.
How do we build this athlete identity? Well, it’s kind of a chicken/egg thing. The same way that our identity informs our habits, our habits inform our identity. The more you do something, the more you identify as someone who does that thing. This means we will first focus on your habits, and change those habits to that of an athlete. By performing those small athlete habits more consistently, your identity as an athlete will strengthen, and then those athlete habits will become easier. By focusing on habits and identity from the beginning, we’re setting up a foundation for long-term progress and success. This isn’t about how much gains you’ll see in three months, but about how much progress you’ll see in three, ten, and fifteen years. By becoming AN ATHLETE internally as well as externally, you will set yourself up for a lifetime of improved performance.
