As we enter into the 2015 Holiday season, it means 2016 is quickly approaching, and with it comes a fresh new start.  No matter how you did this past season, whether you totally exceeded your goals or came up a little short, you start with clean sheet into your next season.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself that will help you enter 2016 with the right mindset.

What kind of athlete do I want to be?

Its easy to point at a season end goal – winning my AG, qualifying for Kona, finishing to a new PR, successfully running a 100 miles – and think how great it will feel to be THAT athlete.  Breaking news:  you don’t need to wait to cross that finish line to be that kind of athlete.  You don’t become a consistently hard worker after you achieve your goals.  It’s something that you are.  Think about the athlete you want to be next season, and apply it – be it – live it – on a daily basis.

What is the biggest thing I can improve this coming season?

It’s easy to understand how athletes become a little overwhelmed at the beginning of the season when they think of all the hard work to come.  Thinking about all the things we need to improve in order to achieve our goals can leave us feeling a little like we are being sucked along in a rip current.  This year, pick one thing you know will have the most impact on your results.  It could be managing your time better, hitting 100% of your swimming sessions, not forgetting running drills, or nailing your nutrition, either in training as prep for race day or your daily fruits & vegetables.  Pick one thing and do it supremely well.  A nice added bonus is that the attention to detail will soon infect other parts of your swimming, biking and running:  strength, swimming, drills, nutrition, etc.

What will I do each day to be a little bit better?

Success in the long term isn’t the result of one big moment.  It’s the steady application of marginal and incremental gains, of showing up each day and doing it a little bit better.  You don’t need to be perfect in practice every single day, but you should absolutely try to be just a little bit better than you were yesterday.  Progress, not perfection…

Why not?

We all have secret dreams of what we would like to achieve during our time doing these crazy endurance sports.  Why sabotage yourself right out of the gate by limiting your opportunities to see what you are capable of?  You are just as deserving of success in what you are doing as anyone else, so chase those big, moderately-crazy goals with excitement and confidence this next season!  Remember…moderately crazy..not unrealistic crazy…!