How do you prepare for the week?

How often do we as coaches preach about preparation, and yet our daily routine involves jumping out of bed and right into the first practice of the week and all of a sudden we are half way through Monday or even the week, and we are carrying the same bad habits from the week before.


As much as I love packing things into the workout, last week I found something that worked really well for me and the team.  First thing on Monday morning, instead of rushing everybody to get in the water, we had some quiet time on deck. I read from Psalms, then I asked the team to think about the week ahead, and we took a few minutes of silence to pray and think about the week ahead.  I asked the team to think about the behaviors they needed to focus on this week and what adjustments they can make from last week.  It's hard to explain, but there was a feeling of peace, assurance, and clarity as we started the week together.

I think we are creatures of habit, both good and bad, and we like to keep it on cruise control as much as we can.  Change and adjustments are hard. They make us uncomfortable, and sometimes I think it is easier to maintain the same bad habits (even when we know deep down, they are not working) than commit to moving forward and finding the missing piece of the puzzle.  Sometimes we get caught moving so fast from one thing to another that we fail to give ourselves a chance to reflect on what we need to be doing or what we need to fix.

Take some time to Reset yourself at the beginning of each week.  Remind yourself of your goals and the behaviors associated with those goals.

Here is the Psalm we read this morning:  Great words to hear as we head towards Thanksgiving.

Psalm 103:8-12

New International Version (NIV)

⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.