Monday, January 6, 2014

Dealing With the Uncertainty of Contest Preparation

By Skip La Cour
Six Time National Bodybuilding Champion
Success Coach


I don't care how many bodybuilding contests that you've entered in your life, you will inevitably encounter at least some degree of uncertainty that the strategies you've chosen are the "right" strategies. Relax! That's all part of the game, so to speak.

It's easy to understand why you'd feel uncertain at times during the long, involved contest preparation process. There are so many strategies out there to choose from as you prepare for your show, right? And, doesn't it seem as though everyone wants to offer you their advice on what you should be doing and should not be doing--whether you asked for their advice or not?

With so many different directions to go, how can you possibly know for sure that the path you've chosen is the right path? You've invested far too much time and effort in your contest preparation to be going about things in the wrong way, right?

The truth of the matter is that you can never really know for sure if your hard work will payoff in the way you want it to. But, is there guaranteed success for any endeavor you take on in life? And if there was, how fun would the process be if you knew for sure how things would end up?

The first thing you must do is choose a good teacher, role model, or coach. Make sure you have enough faith in who they are and what they are all about. That will makes things a little easier when their strategies are challenged by articles you may read or "experts" you may come across during your contest preparation.

Then, you must give the strategies you decided to use your consistent and very best effort. Remember, just about every strategy can be effective if enough effort is poured into it.

You must stick to your plan once you've decided upon it. Switching back and forth from one strategy to another will accomplish nothing. Even if you do "succeed" you really won't know which philosophy contributed your success. Another unfortunate thing about switching back and forth between different strategies is the knowledge you'll rob yourself of attaining to become better in the future. You'll find yourself with the same degree of uncertainty the next time you prepare for a contest unless you really work your plan until its conclusion.

You must learn to exhibit faith and patience while on your contest journey. No matter how things turn out, you'll be better off over time by sticking to your plan and learning the pros and cons associated with it through your own personal experience--not by what others might tell you. Look, I know that everyone out there claims to be an expert and wants to thrust advice upon you but, to be honest, no one really comes close to caring about your success and failure as much as you do. So they give you some bad information? What do they care? It's not their time and hard work that will be compromised!

Uncertainty during your contest preparation is a very common way of feeling--even for a competitive bodybuilder at my level. You must control your emotions and learn how to effectively deal with this emotion because it will never go away.

Chalk up your uncertainty to your tremendous desire to be your very best when you finally step on stage. Don't view the uncertainty you experience along your journey as a weakness. Instead, you should see it as one of your most empowering strengths!

Friend to friend, I'll openly share with you that even the best of us feel that way at times. You are amongst good company!