If you’ve ever watched track and field you will know that when a race begins, the officials ask the athletes to step to the blocks, get into position, and then release them. “On your marks, get set…GO!” I’m sure you’ve heard it growing up when you raced your friends in the park. As somebody who has ran track before, I can tell you that hearing those words is both scary, but also exciting. Three phrases that start your race. A moment you have been training for for months if not years to finally explode out of the blocks, and run the best race you can. When the official says “on your marks” you place your feet into the blocks, ensuring that you give yourself the best possible foundation to start running. Pushing out of the blocks is something that gets practiced over and over again during training sessions to ensure that in that split second where you release your momentum, you do so in the most effective way to set you up for a successful race. When the official says “get set”, you raise your hips and hold that position, until you hear the sound telling you to finally “GO!”. You will see various athletes get into their positions in different ways, but they all find a way to ground themselves into the blocks and prepare themselves for the race. They all train in different ways, they all have their own “pre-race rituals,” and they each run a different race – one defined by their own ability. The ONE thing they have in common, is that moment where they “get set.”

As I’m sure you know by now, I’m not here to talk about running… but let’s apply the concept to a bigger theme. If we really think about what these athletes do before they take off running we can truly visualize the process of them giving themselves the best possible shot to run a good race. That preparation, that steadfast moment that raises their adrenaline and pumps them up, is one of the most crucial parts of the race… and it happens at the very beginning, almost before the race even starts. This is a concept you must apply toward any goal or dream you have in your life as it is one of the most crucial elements to enabling you to actually turn your passions into your reality. Start at the beginning, and say the three phrases again, only this time we will change one of them.

“ON YOUR MARKS… MIND-SET… GO!”

MINDSET. One of the most important elements of starting on any journey through creating a reality driven by a passion. You MUST have the mindset that you CAN accomplish what you want in life if you are willing to put the work in. Just like racing, mindset comes first. It comes before you run, it comes before you start growing your business or chasing your passion. Mindset is the foundation that you need to get you through everything you are about to embark on in your journey. Why? Well… things get hard. Things will fail. What you will encounter may be entirely different than what you expected. Mindset, the power to believe in a result because you believe in yourself, is what will get you through all of that. You will realize that you already have a mindset. You already have an outlook on how things may go. You already have a belief in something. The question is what is that belief? If you believe you will fail you are almost guaranteeing that outcome because your mindset, your foundation, is that you will fail. The mindset that you will succeed not only reinforces your ability to believe in yourself, it will also force you find new ways to problem solve when things go wrong.

I hesitate to say you need to have a “positive” mindset, because a positive mindset to me does not exist as “positive” suggests that negative things may not happen. Instead, learn to have “growth mindset.” This means that despite of challenges, you will find ways to bounce back. Your mindset comes from what you want to achieve. So if what you want to achieve comes with challenges, having a growth mindset will help you overcome them. As for positivity, I prefer to say your attitude can be positive. The combination of the two is where you really can start to make changes in your life. With a growth mindset you have already tuned your mind to believe in a particular goal and trained yourself to go after it, and with a positive attitude, you bring an energy to the task that is enjoyable, stimulating, and allows you to find purpose in what you do. Together you can really begin to progress on goals you’ve always had for yourself.

I can’t stress enough the notion that giving yourself a foundation on how to THINK about what you want to do is equally, if not more important than what it is you actually want to do. Shifting your mindset to help you believe in a purpose is the only way to find the path to achieve what you want. I know running is not for everyone, and track and field even less so… but find your marks, tune your mindset, and go turn your passion into your reality.

Believe in the power of your dream…

“ON YOUR MARKS, MIND-SET, GO!”