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Durand: Do what you say and say what you do

Mirror bike columnist James Durand on the importance of setting goals and having a plan to meet them
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I know, ironically this statement in the above headline is way harder said than done.

But I try to live my life this way, I try to instil this in my kids, and for the most part I think I manage to follow through on goals.

Sure, stuff comes up and plans change, I get that, but if you don’t take your plans seriously, does anything really get accomplished? This seems even more prevalent in sports.

Setting goals is paramount and planning the proper approach is the key to achieving those goals.

I have gone through this many times with big biking events.

Set a goal, plan a training routine, and adjust your life to suit.

Without that, the chance of success is slim at best. Goals are not going to achieve themselves, no matter how big or how small they are.

This is all in my head right now because I just spent the weekend with my nephew at his university in Pittsburgh. He was finishing up his four-year collegiate lacrosse career.

As I was watching his game I remembered 10 years ago when he was practising with his wrong hand and explained to me that this would increase his chances at a university scholarship. He was 12.

Who thinks like that at 12?

He continued on that route and practiced relentlessly, found the right coaches, and joined the right tournaments to get noticed.

He graduated university this past week and had an amazing four-year experience playing top level field lacrosse along the way.

Congrats Eddie.

After his game (with a nail- biting overtime win), he also told me he was so excited that he was going to party harder than ever.

By the looks of his eyes the next morning, he accomplished that goal too.

I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’