Murray Magic

I don't know about you, but there is something quite thrilling about watching one of your countries sportsmen winning the tournament he has worked his whole life to win. 

Watching Andy Murray win the Wimbledon tennis final today was inspirational stuff. Seeing a young man grow, learn and develop into one of the worlds best tennis players has been amazing. As a boy his mum and dad nurtured his talent, as a man he has had to find additional ways to support his progress, including self care, emotionally and physically.

I was then reflecting on what we can learn from his great achievement and how to apply a bit of Murray Magic to our own lives whether that be in our personal lives or in business. And my thoughts were:

1)    Our perceived failures are only feedback. Taking our setbacks on board and learning from them is what keeps us moving forward towards our goal. Andy is now a champion at managing his response to failure. When things are going badly in a set he can now move on to the next point having let go of the last one.

2)    Stay focused on your goal. Recognising that sometimes progress is incremental, step by step. Andy Murray admits he is now more patient and we have seen this on the court. Rather than rush to win a point he pauses and works out the best way to win it rather than getting ahead of himself. Sometimes we are taken off course, but staying focused on the long term goal helps us keep on track

3)    Recruit your support team. Knowing what you need to get you were you want to go is important. Surrounding yourself with the right people that will support and challenge you in the right quantities is essential to your progress and can transform your performance.

4)     Practice, Practice, Practice. The best achievements are the ones we have to work hard for. When things seem to be off track - keep practicing. More importantly when things are going fantastically well - keep practicing. Demonstrating our commitment to our goal through practice, gives us momentum and keeps us moving forward, even if sometimes progress seems slow. Small steps combine to result in big leaps.

5)     Self Care. In order to perform at our best and be all that we need to be for others, we must first take care of our own needs. Whether that is emotionally, physically or  spiritually, taking the time to do what intuitively feels right to keep us healthy and well is the vital practice that all successful people do well.

This week I will be sprinkling a little Murray Magic on my life and watching my progress with interest. I will also be sprinkling some Chris Froome's way as he strives to achieve his goal of winning this years Tour de France. Bon Chance Chris!