{"id":9697,"date":"2021-12-07T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=9697"},"modified":"2021-11-05T10:57:01","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T10:57:01","slug":"sport-principle-26-be-single-minded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-26-be-single-minded\/","title":{"rendered":"Sport Principle 26: Be single-minded"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">About the Sport Principle<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sports scientists used to think success was achieved by being focused, but not obsessed. They are now convinced you need to be obsessed. Four years before the London 2012 Olympics, one of our fencers made a big choice to make sure every last little decision in her life was made with one thing and one thing only in mind: Olympic gold in London. Of course, that affected her training, but everything else too: what time she went to bed, what she ate and didn\u2019t, where she went at the weekend, and what time she came home, etc. Was she obsessed? Yes. Did she succeed? She won Olympic silver. You decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Application to Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This week\u2019s thought is very simple and short. As men of God, we\u2019re working towards something so much more worthwhile and saturated with purpose, so much more history-making and eternity shaping than a mere Olympic silver medal, or gold for that matter. How much more motivated should we be to build God\u2019s Kingdom and partner with Him as he builds His church, as we keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Christ, rather than earthly things, that ultimately mean nothing. I have nothing more to say this week. My prayer is that this brief thought helps you to reflect on your reason to get up in the morning. May you be filled with a new Holy Spirit infused sense of purpose as you prayerfully reflect on the first 4 verses of Colossians 3:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,\u00a0set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right h<em>and of God.\u00a0Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.\u00a0For you died,\u00a0and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.\u00a0When Christ, who is your life,\u00a0appears,\u00a0then you also will appear with him in glory. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Colossians 3:1-4.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Image credit: Paul Hudson via Flickr<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-26-be-single-minded\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About the Sport Principle Sports scientists used to think success was achieved by being focused, but not obsessed. They are now convinced you need to be obsessed. Four years before the London 2012 Olympics, one of our fencers made a big choice to make sure every last little decision in her life was made with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":9698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[721,110,583,653,377],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2012medalsBLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-2wp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9419,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-12-find-your-inches\/","url_meta":{"origin":9697,"position":0},"title":"Sport Principle 12: Find your \u2018inches\u2019","date":"13 July 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"About the Sport Principle At the London 2012 Olympics, six of Team GB\u2019s record gold medal haul were won by less than an inch. In high-level sport, the margins for error, and, therefore, the difference between a gold and a silver, are tiny. This principle can also be seen clearly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/inches-BLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9371,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-9-whats-it-all-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":9697,"position":1},"title":"Sport Principle 9: What\u2019s it all for?","date":"25 May 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"About the Sport Principle: Life in the Olympic village: This year, the Olympics will be very different. Due to the global pandemic, there will be no international spectators and the competitors themselves will be in and out of the village, only permitted to stick around for the duration of their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/olympcis-BLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9239,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-2-the-95-5-principle\/","url_meta":{"origin":9697,"position":2},"title":"Sport Principle 2: The 95\/5 Principle","date":"23 February 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"About the Sport Principle The 80\/20 principle is well known: 80% of insurance claims are made by 20% of claimants; 80% of road traffic accidents are caused by 20% of drivers; 80% of wages are earned by 20% of workers; 80% of alcohol is drunk by 20% of drinkers, etc.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/skyscraper.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9727,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-31-get-a-grip\/","url_meta":{"origin":9697,"position":3},"title":"Sport Principle 31: Get a grip","date":"25 January 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"About the Sport Principle Like weightlifters, high-level rock climbers stand or fall, (often quite literally) on the strength of their grips. Grip strength is of crucial importance here, and Sports Science tests often focus on climbers\u2019 forearms with the aim of discovering what makes good climbers uniquely effective with their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/weightsBLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9377,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/sport-principle-11-avoid-the-language-of-the-velodrome\/","url_meta":{"origin":9697,"position":4},"title":"Sport Principle 11: Avoid the language of the velodrome","date":"22 June 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"About the Sport Principle Have you ever been frustrated at being excluded from something because you cannot access the specialist language? Olympic track cycling presents this frustration for me. Every four years, I excitedly tune in to enjoy what strikes me as a gripping event, but every time, my inability\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/velodrome-BLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9703,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/uncategorized\/sport-principle-28-the-podium-performance-contract\/","url_meta":{"origin":9697,"position":5},"title":"Sport Principle 28: The podium performance contract","date":"21 December 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"About the Sport Principle In these days of sky-high expectations from the British public following three hugely successful Olympic Games from our athletes, and where there is more government money through agencies like Sport England funding sport than ever before, the podium performance (or elite performance) contract has become increasingly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/contractBLOG.jpg?fit=610%2C291&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9697"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9699,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9697\/revisions\/9699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}