Olympic-inspired strategies to boost your career performance

They say that sport is the ultimate meritocracy. Regardless of who you are, where you come from, or what your race or religion is, you'll ultimately be judged by how well you perform when you're out there competing with others. An athlete's career is defined by moments, and some work relentlessly for years just for a chance to shine under the Olympic spotlight.

Succeeding in such a brutally competitive environment doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of careful planning and strategizing, plus the discipline required to execute those plans. If you want to boost your career performance, learn from the best. Consider implementing these Olympic-inspired strategies.

Olympic-inspired tips that can benefit your career

Success in sports is never an accident. Even seemingly lucky victories are the result of years of preparation and hard work. These habits and practices help elite athletes separate themselves from the pack. Implementing them into your career approach can help you do the same.

Define your gold medal

All Olympic athletes have one major professional goal: to win the gold medal. Once they set this target, they begin their quest and orient their entire lives toward this destination. Knowing what you want is the first step toward achieving it, and this also applies to your career. Simply stating that you want to improve your career performance isn't specific enough. What does that mean to you? Once you discover the answer to this question, you'll know what success means. Some goals that you can set for yourself are:

Earning a promotion: One of the most common career goals is reaching a specific level within your profession. Once you set that target, you can start analyzing the people already at that level and look for clues into what helped them get there.
Improving your skill set: Like a basketball player expanding their shooting range, you can also look for ways to differentiate yourself from your competition and add to your bag of tricks. Doing that can help you evolve throughout your career.
Changing your career path: Clara Hughes is a Canadian who won two cycling medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics and then successfully took up speed skating, winning multiple Winter Olympics medals. She's one of dozens of other Olympic athletes who successfully competed in different sporting disciplines, and there's no reason why you can't use this to inspire your career trajectory.

Constantly improve

The difference between winning gold and missing out on medals altogether is often a matter of inches or hundredths of a second. This is why elite athletes are always on the lookout for subtle ways they can improve their performance. Even if you think you're on top of your game, you should constantly be trying to find ways to improve. If you don't, then someone else will.

Find the right mentors

We often see athletes standing in the spotlight by themselves and tend to forget that winning is always a team effort. Behind every successful Olympian, there's a group of dedicated coaches, doctors, managers, and other professionals who play their part. They also often have mentors who have navigated the path of success before and can act as guides. Try to find them in your field, and use their vast experience to improve your career performance.

Stay relevant

One of the main reasons why modern athletes are better prepared mentally and physically than ever before is the wide variety of new technologies and techniques that they implement into their routines. They use data to optimize and personalize the way they train, the food they eat, and many other aspects of their mental and physical preparation.

This also applies to you and your career path. Regardless of what field you operate in, if you look at how it was 20 years ago and compare it to what it is today, you'll probably find huge differences. The world doesn't stand still, and neither should you. Make it a habit to constantly seek new ways to improve how you do things.

Don't dwell on past failures

Superstar and two-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Jordan missed 12,345 shots throughout his NBA career. There's no such thing as the perfect athlete, and any successful Olympian's career has its fair share of failures. The ability to avoid letting those failures affect them mentally is a major part of what differentiates a good athlete from an elite one.

Even if you've experienced failures throughout your career, it's important to learn what you can from them and move on. Once you reach your desired career level, you'll see those failures as essential stepping stones and embrace them as part of your journey.

Avoid neglecting other aspects of your life

You often see successful Olympic athletes dedicating their victories to significant people in their lives, such as their spouses, children, parents, and friends. No matter how well-optimized and tuned for performance their lifestyle is, it's important to remember that they're not robots. They're human beings, and having a support system of people who love and care for them is essential for their professional success.

Achieving a healthy work-life balance is also essential for your career success, especially over the long term. Your road to victory is likely to have many ups and downs, and it helps to have people around you to help you remember that there's more to life than career growth. Your mental and physical health are crucial factors in everything you do. Make sure you sleep well, eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and enjoy your hobbies.

"If you want to boost your career performance, learn from the best."

How to approach career growth like an Olympian

Knowing what you need to do to boost your career performance is the first step, but putting it into practice is the real challenge. If you've decided to take this journey, consider following these steps to victory.

Assess your current situation

While getting to the finish line is your ultimate goal, you also need to know exactly what your starting position is. Take a moment to evaluate where you currently stand in your career. Are you where you expected to be at this moment in time? Do you feel you're underachieving? Are you committed to staying on this career path over the long term? Answering these kinds of questions can help you understand where you currently stand so you'll have a more accurate estimate of how long your journey to success is.

Determine if it's worth it or not

There's a reason why many gifted athletes fail to reach the peak of their disciplines. Reaching the top usually requires levels of sacrifice and commitment that not everyone is willing or able to reach. It's the same in any profession, and there's nothing wrong in realizing that you're not cut out to do what it takes to get there. Find a level that you're comfortable with and do your best to reach it.

Make a plan and stick to it

Once you've determined where you are and where you want to be, it's time to take action. Write down what you need to do to reach your goals, divide each action into multiple smaller steps, and create a timeline that you must stick to. From then on, it's simply a matter of being consistent and working toward your destination every day.

Improving your career performance and professional standing is often challenging. Letting yourself be inspired by successful Olympic athletes can help you create your path to success. Once you get there, you're also more likely to appreciate the journey as much as the destination itself.