‘Creating a baseline’

A baseline applies to everyone, whether you’re an expert at creating and sticking to habits or you need a little help. Maybe your goal is increased physical health and improvement. Or it’s getting better at being on time. The steps to reach your goals and turn them into resilient habits are the same.

Creating a baseline means first acknowledging where you’re starting from. We do this with our players who are recovering from injury. They might be feeling anxious about returning to play. We start by looking at their physical capabilities, their nutrition, and the mental support they need. Then we can get a big picture understanding of where they’re starting from. The same three-pronged approach can be used for anyone to understand their baseline.

Once we have a baseline, the next step is creating goals. We do this by examining aims and means.

Aims are: What are the goals?
Means are: How do we get there?

Let’s say you’re always running late. Your goal could be to arrive 10 minutes early. The means could be anything from setting an earlier alarm to pre-packing your bag to figuring out your best commuting route ahead of time.

I wouldn’t expect someone to have the same ability as one of my athletes. But our goals as people really boil down to the same things: a healthier life, longevity, and mental and physical wellness.