When I write or publish on a topic, there is a good chance I have recently encountered the problem at hand. The entire 2023 year has been a workshop in applying what I glean from resources, my doctoral studies, and experiences. This form of learning is fun because there is freedom with how you go about it.
Having a foot in the door with my own athletic endeavors has led to a relentless pursuit of finding out more on:
Working with others or providing for others
Analyzing a problem
Improving a system
Much of the motivation for the learning process was that I spent much of the past few years confused at all of the information that is published, posted, and purported. This frustrated me.
It was not until I started connecting with and receiving input from mentors and peers that I began to sort through the swathes of information on training, stress, recovery, adapting, and performing. My conclusion was two-fold
Applying what you see and reflecting on it provides clearer understanding and immediate feedback…sometimes negative feedback!
Helping someone else forces you to recall, rehearse, and reevaluate what you already know. My mind has been changed (for the better) in quite a few areas from this.
The pursuit of gaining understanding has enabled me to build a small circle to help myself and the athletes to whom I provide coaching.
Finding these lessons out for myself has been an interesting battle. I have not obtained any formal education or been through an Elite development path in sport. Cultivating my own experiences has been crucial. It gives me the confidence that I can continue to take forward steps.
Moving forward, there will need to be either mentorship or more formal recourse to continue to develop. This would include acquiring resources such as an external reviewer or someone to push me in directions that I am afraid to go.
Maybe this includes improving connections with current mentors, adding new ones, or obtaining professional certification.
It’s Thanksgiving week and I am grateful for those with whom I have been able to work with. I will continue to be open about what I am learning and applying; delivering it through a lens of authenticity.