If you were watching the Olympics last week, you might have caught US swimmer Katie Ledecky’s incredible world record-breaking 400-meter freestyle swim.

The world record was 3:59. Katie’s goal was to do it in 3:56 or better... and guess what? She finished first, and her time was 3:56. What a way to win a gold medal! And this week, she set a new record for the 800-meter! 

I especially loved seeing bronze medalist Leah Smith gasp (“3:56?”) when she saw Ledecky’s time come up on the scoreboard – it shocked even her!

Write Down Your Goals

It’s so incredibly inspiring to see people like Ledecky challenging herself to push the limits. She could have been satisfied with a gold medal, but no – she and her coach wanted to really go for it and set a world record.

As an artist, I’ll bet that you have some goals that might really feel like a stretch to you. Maybe you’re trying to nab your first costar credit, get new representation or, y’know, win an Oscar!

Whatever your goals are, write them down! Even better, share them with a friend if you’re really serious about getting there.

I’m not just rattling off some old-fashioned advice. A study done by Dr. Gail Matthews, psychology professor at Dominican University, proved that sharing your goals with others is a surefire way to see results. In her study, 70% of a test group who sent weekly updates to a friend reported successful goal achievement (accomplished the goal entirely or were at least half way there).

In a separate test group, just 35% of those who kept the goal to themselves without writing it down reached the same level of achievement.

The lesson? Write down your goals, and share them with people who care about you!

A Little Goalspiration to Get You Started

There are so many different ways you can write down your goals, but here are some of my favorites that I’ve done myself and that I’ve seen my actor clients do through the years...

·      Write your goal on a colorful sticky note and put it near your desk.

·      Create a “vision board” of your goals and hang it in your bathroom. Examine the board nightly as you brush your teeth.

·      Write a detailed description of your goal in your journal, and dog-ear the page so you can return to it whenever you want to review it.

·      Find an image that represents your goal and make it the background on your laptop or Smart Phone.

·      Post your goal on Facebook for extra accountability.

What Daily Habits of Olympiads Can You Adopt?

And I don't mean at the gym. Many olympic athletes have good habits and routines that aren't workout specific. And the actors in the MY BIG YEAR group have something in common with those olympiads. We spend a whole quarter focusing on prioritizing rest and play time among other things. Not to mention visualizing goals. 

Speaking of MY BIG YEAR...we have a call Thursday (tomorrow) with actor Michael Kostroff (Broadway, HBO, etc)! He'll be giving us nuggets of wisdom from his workshop, Audition Psych 101. 
Contact me if you'd like to join us!