Happy New Year.  To perform something personally revolutionizing this year doesn’t require fairy dust, it won’t be because of a seismic intervention. You don’t need to have a spiritual awakening.  Your very best path to excellence this year begins with a healthy dose of pragmatism.

As we kick off this year, no matter where you are in your sporting journey, I highly encourage all Purple Patch athletes to meet themselves where they are.  This mindset and approach is the one that paves a route that is most likely to end up with great consistency and progression that actually moves you forward.  Just within my little corner of Purple Patch, I have athletes who are looking to take steps toward being world class and others who are desperately trying to find a path to exercise with consistency, while ceasing to self-sabotaging with poor eating and sleep habits.  It is a broad range of current states of performance, and the goals range from the pointy edge of the spear to simple basic health and energy. No matter, each of their goals are lofty – for them – and each athlete should begin the year with progression from where they are currently at.  Fake it till you make it, in a performance journey, is not the optimal approach.

As we dive into 2022, it is great to dream big, it is important to challenge yourself with some seriously lofty goals. I encourage you to dream, to chase and to even bite off a little more than you can chew. It is the art and passion of a BHAG – a big hairy audacious goal – but that doesn’t mean the first steps of the journey need to be giant leaps. My one small example of this is anchored around our strength program. Coach Mike Olzinski recently spoke about a proper strength progression on the Purple Patch podcast, making two important points:

• The program must progressive incrementally and patiently over the year.
• Many athletes might not even go through all phases in an initial year of strength - to achieve great success.

A whole year without lifting heavy for some folk, but still on a path for personal achievement.

The point?  Don’t be in a rush. This January or across the journey. Perhaps you might refresh your New Years commitments, and douse them in a healthy dose of pragmatism. It is likely the path to success.

Let’s hold hands and begin, but remember there is no rush.

Cheers,

Matt