The New Daily Practice Plan for Ex-Athletes

Dear Athlete,

All of your coaches had a practice plan. The practice plan set the intentions for what they wanted the team/athletes to achieve that day at practice. It then laid out the practice action steps (for example, the dreaded sprints at the end of practice) in order to meet longer-term goals (like winning games and championships). As ex-athletes, we can learn a lot from our coaches' practice plans to adopt into our everyday lives.

So, what would it look like if you created your own daily practice plan to tackle all the goals and desires you want to achieve in your lifetime? The transition to creating your own daily practice plan will require experiential learning with intention setting; so let’s break down some steps to get you started.

1. Understand what a daily practice plan is

This new daily practice will lay out your daily individual intentions that align with your longer-term goals, dreams, and desires. Intentions are the “why” for what you are doing for the day ahead and your longer-term goals, dreams, and desires are what you hope to accomplish in the future. By doing so, you set forth momentum to take aligned actions every single day and in every choice you make that will bridge the gap between your intentions and your longer-term life plans. A great mentor of mine once said, “how we do the work, is the work.”

2.  Each day set your intentions / your “why” for living

First, you will want to create time and space to set your intentions. Personally, I enjoy doing this first thing in the morning (before checking any sort of social media!) so my day stacks on top of my intentions/"my why” for who I am and what I’m here to do as a leader.

There are lots of great resources and philosophical debates on the topics of when/where to do your daily practice of intention setting. While it can be beneficial to learn about some of these practices from leaders who have come before you, at Inward Athlete, we encourage athletes during this time of transition to find what works best for you as an individual through experimentation. So, how do you get clear on what works best for you? Now that is the million-dollar question. And finding the answer to this question will take time, commitment, patience, and perseverance (all qualities you have acquired throughout your athletic experience).

Think about it this way, you are now the coach and you get to hold yourself accountable for showing up to practice every single day. How would you design this practice for it to be rejuvenating, joyful, and life-giving as something you want to show up and give your all to every single day?

Here is a list of inquiries to help get you started with creating your own individual daily practice plan:

• What helps you gain clarity first thing in the morning? (think - prayer, meditation, journaling, etc.)

- How much time does this take?

• How do you best receive messages from your creator (God/Universe/Source)?
• What helps you move stagnant energy upon waking up?
• How do you enjoy showing gratitude for being alive each day?
• What nutrients do you need to feed your mind/body/soul?
• What makes you feel alive (think - dancing, singing, writing, etc.)?
• To what are you devoted to?

- What gets you out of bed every morning?‌‌

3. Evaluate what’s working and what’s not working

Once you begin to collect data from trying new things to set your intentions each day, begin to sift through and make a list of “what’s working” and “what’s not working”. This list will help provide clarity for what you enjoy doing to help you create your daily intentions. Personally, I have found what works for me is being flexible with my morning routine and using my intuition for what I want to “do” (i.e., prayer, meditating, journal, a walk out in nature, etc.) to help provide me with clarity to get me started with my day. No day and daily practice plan look the same for me :) - because I get to be my own coach! Repetition and doing the same things over and over again is boring to me and for you that might be the key that unlocks the path to your dream life. We’re all different so find what works for you!

Why create a daily practice plan?

There are a lot of great resources and research out there about why creating daily habits and rituals for intention setting aids people to lead more satisfied and fulfilled lives. If you think about it, what would happen if you showed up to practice every day and your coach didn’t have a practice plan? Do you think your teams would have been successful without the structure of practice built around intentions that moved your team to reach your goals? Now, there is something to be said about “days-off” and “fun practice days” right?! But, we can’t have these days every day or we would lose the thread that pulls the whole team through a long season together. Your new daily practice plan is an opportunity for you to uncover your “why” and every, single, day, take aligned action from that place. Because when you get into the “game” of playing your life and you practiced every single day - you know how to execute and carry out the plan to lead you to success.

When you begin to create your own daily practice plan - tag us on Instagram @InwardAthlete! We would love to see you setting your intentions by showing up to practice for yourself every, single, day.

Thank you go Going Inward with us today -

Inward Athlete Team