The Winning Athletes

Confessions of a competitive mind.

by Richard Lovett and Holly Hight

Exorcising Work Stress By Going 100 Percent . . . in the Middle of the Business Day

A few weeks ago, Holly attended a business conference where, amid a week of hectic activity, there was a noon-hour 5K race. It was an intriguing mix - not just of business and pleasure, but of intense mental work . . . broken up by intense physical activity. When it was over, she wondered how the world would be different if we could do that more often.

When an athlete is psychologically broken, he or she doesn't simply give up, but actually loses the physical ability to perform. This doesn't have to happen, though. Like so many things that affect performance at work, school, and home, being broken is a state of mind. It's a decision that you, and only you, control. Read More

When Racers are Pyschologically "Broken"

Winning a race is more than simply running your best. Sometimes it's also a psychological duel. If you've ever watched Olympic distance races or a major marathon on TV, for example, you'll have seen competitors throwing "surges" at each other, as they pick up the pace in an effort to psyche out their rivals. The goal is to make the other runner feel defeated - "broken" in the parlance of racing. Read More

Jumping Off a Cliff

"If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too?" It's the type of question parents ask in an effort to get children to think for themselves. Of course, the answer is "no." But what if you're on a team, when everyone expects you - and everyone else - to jump off a cliff together? Read More

Giving Chase: Giving Your All

When Holly was in middle school, one of her first races was a 3000-meter cross-country race. At the finish, she was ashen faced, wobbly, starting to see spots around the edges of her vision, with an odd, muffled sense to her hearing. She'd basically run herself right to the edge of collapse. Why? Read More

Fear of Success

In any sport, there are athletes who never live up to their potential. Sometimes it's because of injuries. Sometimes, people just aren't really motivated. They're going through the motions, but not really putting in the training, practice, or hard emotional and physical work of preparing themselves for peak performance. Read More