Twenty two years ago, Kathy Kreiner stood on the Olympic podium listening to Canada's national anthem being played in her honour. The gold medal had just been placed around her neck, and as the Canadian flag rose against the backdrop of the mountains near Innsbruck, Austria, a swell of emotion and pride passed through the hearts of Canadians everywhere.A Dream Come True
Kathy had just skied the race of her life to snatch the victory in the Giant Slalom away from the highly-favoured German skier, Rosi Mittermaier. The teenager from Timmins, Ontario was declared the new Olympic Champion and Canadians immediately adopted her as their sweetheart and national hero. Kathy's heart was filled with elation, but it was only as the days passed that the significance of her victory finally began to sink in -- her childhood dream had come true. She had struck Olympic gold at the age of 18.
Two decades later, Kathy Kreiner-Phillips is a practicing sport psychologist who acts as a mental trainer to world-class athletes and uses her unique story to remind men and women from all walks of life that dreams really do come true. She motivates people to strive for excellence in all areas of life because "Olympic gold may not be for everyone -- but excellence is."
Excellence One Step at a Time
Personal excellence takes a dream, hard work and determination, as well as the support and encouragement of others. It can only be achieved by developing an individual game plan that you are committed to and by adopting a winning attitude that will carry you through to the finish. Kathy's story illustrates key points that can help you make your dream come true -- whatever that dream may be.
1. Dream big -- excellence always begins with a vision.
Kathy's first glimpse of Olympic Gold came while watching home movies of the 1968 Olympic Games in Grenoble, France where Canadian skier Nancy Greene captured the world's attention by winning a gold medal. Kathy's father, a physician, had travelled to Grenoble to serve as the team doctor for the Canadian ski team and he returned home with films and personal stories of the Olympic games and Nancy's victory. Kathy was fascinated by Nancy's win, and as she watched the scratchy film footage, the seeds of a dream began to grow in Kathy's heart.
2. Set shorter, achievable goals along the way.
Setting short-term goals and reviewing accomplishments is necessary to keep efforts directed and focussed. Without this strategy, we tend to become so focussed on the dream that we lose sight of what we have to do each day to achieve it. Do not be afraid to revise short-term goals along the way. Even though they may appear to be a step off the original path, revised goals can revitalize a tired game plan.
An olympic dream may have seemed impossible to many, but not to a spunky, 10-year-old girl. Kathy began travelling with the Canadian ski team when she was 11 years-old and went to the Pan Am games when she was only 13. The trips were tiring and Kathy was away from home for long periods of time, but she knew that she was steadily working toward her goal of Olympic gold.
3. Get Your Mental Game Plan in Order
Just two weeks before the Olympics, Kathy went to visit a friend in Germany. To her surprise, he was instrumental in helping her regain her winning attitude. "He built up my confidence and mental focus by asking me key questions such as, 'Do you want to win? What will you be thinking about as you stand in the starting gate? What will you think about as you head down the hill?'"
While thinking about those questions, Kathy decided that she "kinda liked the idea of winning" and the two of them immediately put together a mental strategy to win the race at the Olympics. Until then, Kathy hadn't spent much time working on the mental aspects of winning a race, but says that "developing a new mental strategy was critical in enabling me to get refocussed, renewed and re-energized."
google_ad_client = "pub-0149582512245117"; /* 250x250, 创建于 08-6-17 */ google_ad_slot = "7907118103"; google_ad_width = 250; google_ad_height = 250; //--> By the time Kathy joined her team at the Olympics, she felt as though she was a new woman who not only had a dream, but also a very specific plan to carry out her dream. When the day arrived for her to face her Olympic challenge in Innsbruck, she was ready. "I felt like I was playing a part in a movie. I had rehearsed it over and over and was ready to ski the race that would win. As I stood in the starting blocks looking down at the crowds, I remember thinking, "They don't know it, but I am going to win today." 4. Don't lose sight of the dream. There are always barriers to face as you pursue a dream. The dream itself may provide sufficient motivation for most days, but when times get tough you need the encouragement and support of other people. Kathy is quick to credit the support of others. "My sister, Laurie, was always there to push me, to encourage me, to train with me. My dad provided the opportunity for me to pursue my dream, and my coaches nurtured my dream and helped me to believe in myself. My mom was the unsung hero -- she was always there for me when I came home." A difficult year on the World Cup circuit in 1975/76 led some of Kathy's closest friends on the team, to make the decision to retire as soon as the season was finished. Discouragement soon began to take its toll on Kathy as well. "I was just about to enter the opportunity to have my dream fulfilled," Kathy says, "yet, for awhile, it was like I had forgotten what my dream was. I was almost ready to quit at that point." 5. Give your dreams to God. Kathy was too busy skiing to spend much time thinking about God. But she often felt something drawing her toward God and spiritual things. The night before her Olympic race, Kathy watched a movie that disturbed her and left her in tears -- and wondering if there was a God. On the chairlift ride to the top of the mountain the next day, she recalls saying this small prayer, "God if you really are there -- you do what you want with me today and I will be happy with that." She now says, "As I look back on my life, I believe that God honoured that prayer. I believe that God gave me my dream and drew me to Himself as I accomplished my dream." Although Kathy didn't become a Christian until several years later, she now says that "performance, losses, victories, goals and dreams are all viewed from a very different perspective when they are first and foremost offered to God." As a result, Kathy believes that the success of any performance will be enhanced if we first say to God -- "I will do my best. You do what I cannot do." Take a look at your life.□ How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times.□ There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget.□ In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new.□ What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?
美梦成真 嘉菲刚从德国的大热门选手那里夺得了一项滑雪的冠军。这个从安大略省来的少年，一得到奥运金牌，马上那个就成为加拿大人心目中的甜心和女英雄。对于这次的胜出，嘉菲自然是最兴高采烈的，当最兴奋的高潮过后，她才意会到最重要的是他童年以来的梦想终于成真了。嘉菲赢得奥运金牌那年是正值十八岁的花样年华。 二十年后的今天，嘉菲是一位职业的运动心理医生，成为世界级运动员的精神教练。用她本人的亲身经历来提醒不同背景的男女运动员，梦想是可以成真的。她激励每个来看她的人力求上进，以致在生活的各层面都可以做到最美善。虽然金牌并非人人可得，但人人都可努力做到最好。 步步移进美善世界 梦想、用功、决心和外来的鼓励和支持都能叫人达到成功的佳境。对运动员来说，先要选一项你愿意付出时间经历的运动，存著一份力争上游、不屈不挠的精神，如此你就可以坚持到底。无论你现在的梦想是什么，嘉菲要用她的故事来说明梦想是可以成真的。 1. 梦想可以作大一点，有远见才能达到臻善 第一眼看到加拿大滑雪选手南斯格兰在1968年奥运会赢得一面金牌的片断时，当嘉菲的印象深刻。当时嘉菲的父亲是加拿大世运队的随行医师，他将那些从法国格勒诺布尔所拍得的奥运会片断和在场的所见所闻与家人分享。嘉菲对南斯的胜利敬佩到五体投地。这些活动电影的片断就成为嘉菲梦想的一颗萌芽种子。 2. 订定短线可行的目标 要事半功倍，目标要订短期的，并定期检讨到底达成了多少。此策略防止我们光会做梦而一事无成。目标有时是需要修改的，也许与原定计划有点出入，但一个新的目标会令人焕然一新，令长期的计划获得更新。 也许奥运会的梦想对很多人来说是遥不可及，但对这个活泼的十岁女孩，嘉菲却并非如此。十一岁的嘉菲第一次陪同加拿大滑雪队去参赛，十三岁正式参加泛美赛事。整个旅程是疲累的，而且要离开家一段不短的时间，但她都能忍受，因为它正一步步地爬上奥运金牌的路。 3．心智上要作好准备 就在嘉菲前往奥运会前两星期，她有机会去德国探望一个朋友，结果却大大地帮助嘉菲重建获胜的自信。他问嘉菲几个问题：你很想腾出时间吗？当你站在山顶的起点，你心里想的是什么？当你从山上向山下滑行，你又在想什么？ 当嘉菲在认真地思索这些问题时，她下定决心，她很想腾出，于是他们俩马赫桑进行建立精神对策，务要在奥运会的胜。在此之前，嘉菲从来没有注意在心理上作如此的准备功夫，她后来表示“建立精神对策，确实会令我集中精神去争取胜利，在体力上重新得力。” 面临赛事，嘉菲感觉自己是一个全新的人，在她脑海中不再是单单一个梦想，而是一套实现梦想的具体计划。当抵达因斯布鲁克的会场时，嘉菲是信心十足的。她说：“我觉得自己好像在一部电影中担任演员，我已经排练多时，充分准备好来赢此项赛事。当我站在山上起点，面对下面的群众，我记得我当时是这样想：你们都不知道，但我却知道我会胜利。” 4. 不要让梦想破灭
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