Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?: Olympic-winning Strategies for Everyday Success - Second Edition

If our core beliefs are strong – the metaphorical wheels on our vehicle are pumped up properly – we roll easily over small bumps along the way to achieving our goal. An easy way to remember the four wheels is the mnemonic DICE: •D – Deserved •I – Important •C – Can do •E – Exciting

Ben is an evangelist about what the crew called building momentum.

After the disastrous ‘98 World Championships in Cologne, the crew’s sports psychologist encouraged the crew to agree some rules actively. How are we going to make progress to gold as smooth and easy as possible? What is acceptable behaviour and what isn’t? If ‘rules’ sounds dull or restrictive, then call them team behaviours; team do’s and don’ts;

The crew found that there were three elements to a really powerful team goal. 1a. Mutual desire 1b. Mutual reliance 1c. Measurability

Every single team, every group has rules, it’s just that nine times out of ten they are unconscious ones that people have drifted into over time, rather than have actively agreed to and they might be massively unhelpful.

The British 8 won gold at Sydney by a margin of 0.8 seconds. When the margin between success and failure is that narrow, it’s no wonder they thought long and hard about what they could control. Ben: “You have to do everything because you don’t know what will make the difference.”

Ben: “The sentiment behind it is crucial. For example before a race if someone asked me if we were going to win I’d say ‘We’ll try’ or ‘We’ll see’ because I didn’t want to come across as an arrogant twit, but inside I’d be thinking ‘absolutely’.”

Our attention is an incredibly powerful tool. When we focus our attention on a key variable (and remember this doesn’t mean beating ourselves up!) then our performance automatically improves and we identify what further support we need.

If you look back over the last month, what put you under too much pressure? Or what events are you worried about over the next month? When we get to know our stressors we can proactively manage them.