Diane and Kory During a Triathlon with text "Leading for the Long Run"

August Book of the Month

Posted on September 4, 2018
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How Bad Do You Want It? Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle
By Matt Fitzgerald
2016

This book is focused on endurance athletes. It examines how professional and elite athletes have pushed themselves to their limits to cross the finish line and the ways that they have changed their lives to reach their goals.

Although the target audience for this book is endurance athletes, the message is pertinent for all of us. The key question is really, what are you willing to do or give up to reach that one goal that you are striving for? The answer is, how badly do you want it?

In life there are so many things that we want; health, education, career advancement, fame, fortune, and glory. Unfortunately, you can’t have it all without hard work and dedication. As an athlete I have had to ask myself what I am willing to give up in my life to reach my fitness and racing goals. I determined that even if I felt that I was young enough to be able to compete at an elite level, I am not willing to give up my job to have enough time to train. Why, I simply don’t want it bad enough. I thought about getting a law degree. Why didn’t I? I didn’t want it bad enough to give up other things in my life to dedicate the time to study.

Fitzgerald’s book provides strategies to figure out ways to reach your goals, but also investigates how badly those goals need to be reached.

A few of the key concepts in this book include:

  • The art of letting go
  • The work around affect
  • Today’s weakness, tomorrow’s strength
  • The answer’s inside you
  • Passion knows no age
  • The gift of failure

The last two on the list are my favorites!

This is a must get book for anyone looking to reach a goal in athletics or in life in general.

Di