Terry Peloton

Tag: resume writing

  • Make it Count.

    As The Derailleur at Terry Bicycles, my job as your “Life’s Coach” is “to make it count”. What do you need to make count? What if I told you everything?

    As a Performance Coach for my clients’ minds, I am reminded that placing a premium on a positive outcome – a personal best or a breakthrough of some sort is not uncommon during their goals for success during a race or an event. But what happens in your day-to-day journey on the bike (and in your life)? Do you intentionally set a goal to have a breakthrough or a PR each time you go out and ride? Probably not. Perhaps you are like me where the victory is in actually getting out and getting your ride in. Juggling family, their needs, your work and life itself, just getting out on the bike for a mile can be a major victory.

    So let’s just assume that that is an every ride goal – getting out there. But what if we set an intention to make each ride count…for something? Every effort needs to mean something, but maybe that something doesn’t always have to be aimed at furthering a race goal. Maybe it’s just appreciating the movement of your body or the unique clarity of mind that only comes with a good sweat session. We get so stuck on “progress” that we don’t fully appreciate the “process”.

    Now, let’s take it one step further and ask ourselves what if we made “everything count” as we moved through our day off the bike. Making “it” count may mean being more intentionally, mindful or being fully present during an activity. Imagine what your trip home from work might be like if you “made it count”? Perhaps instead of listening to the radio chatter, you turned the radio off and used the time instead to listen to yourself. Aren’t you worth listening to? Who knows, there might be an idea ready to pop just waiting for you to listen to. But you are making the time count in the car. And that counts.

    Or what if, during our lunch, we chose to make “it count? In this case, maybe “it” is eating. Maybe that looks like slowing down while we eat, looking at the food we have chosen to nourish ourselves with, and perhaps reading a document that also nourishes our mind? What might that help with? Again, we might not see the progress immediately, but let’s think about the process.

    So the idea of making “it” count is about mindfulness – not in the long, contemplative mediation mindfulness that so many of us claim we don’t have time for, but about 5 minutes of intentionally practice of something. And with the mindset of making “it” count. With the idea of appreciating the process, perhaps we won’t get so caught up in the progress and can just enjoy things as they are. That is what counts.

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power.  As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

     

    Photo Courtesy Ron Wu

     

  • Why do you ride?

    This week’s inspiration from coach Amy comes from the heart. Use it as your screen saver and give yourself a motivational boost!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

  • What shape are you in (your mind, that is)?

    Testing your mental conditioning through awareness.

     

    In my introduction last week as The Derailleur at Terry Bicycles, I mentioned that I coach, among other types of clients, athletes of all shapes and sizes on their mental conditioning. Your body can be as fit as an elite athlete’s but if your mental conditioning is lacking, you may perform like you have “cement shoes” (as my friend from Jersey says.) So what is mental conditioning? I know you are about to click off this blog because the last thing you need to be told is to do more exercising. But listen up, this form of exercise is important. This isn’t about your athletic strengths; this is about how you show up on a day-to-day basis in your life. This is about how your mind performs.

    Ok, so how do you even know how “fit” your thoughts and beliefs are? Let’s break it down to this…mental conditioning is about training your mental fitness. Mental fitness is your own self-awareness around how your mind works (or doesn’t work) to support you and your physical conditioning. In other words, what you think is what you do…so what have you been thinking lately? Does it sound like “That was a really hard ride but I am proud of the effort I put on the last ascent.” Or does it sound like this, “Really? You were the slowest on that climb…you came in last. Last! Because that’s where losers come in…last. Nice job loser.”

    Your thoughts may not be that radical either way, but my guess is that there has been a time or two that you “trash talked” yourself after a ride that didn’t go as planned. Worse yet, you may have even “trash talked” yourself BEFORE you even got on the bike. Mental trash is not a source of motivation; it is exactly as it is named…trash. It clutters up the mind, keeping you from learning the lessons of the experience and definitely keeps you from being able to pat your self on the back for the effort you put in. All-important steps to increase your mental fitness level.

    So the first step to mental conditioning is awareness. You have to understand where you are first, before you know how much to train. One way to test your mental fitness level is to see how many times in a day you say the word “Should” or “Must” or “Gotta”…it might sound like “I should have done better” or “I must go faster.” Keep a list of how many times in a day you say words like “should” and its evil friends (Must and Gotta) and see how limiting the “should” often makes you feel. How heavy are the “Shoulds” that you carry with you on your ride each time?

    What would happen if instead of thinking about what you “should do”, you started to train yourself to think about “what is.” This is often called mindfulness and is a way to self-awareness. Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors – all are raw material for the growth of the mental side of your game. The mentally conditioned athlete makes self-awareness a priority and uses it to strengthen their core mental skills. And instead of “should do” they condition themselves to think “I am…” More on “I am” to come in future blogs.

    Once you become aware of how many times you use limiting self-talk or beliefs, you are able to get a clearer picture of how what your mental conditioning level is. Is it strong and designed to move you forward in a healthy, sustainable way or does it act as a defeating message keeping you in your place and preventing you from growing?

    The first steps to increased mental fitness include the most important…awareness. So I challenge you this week to become aware of condition level of your mental game. Keep track of the “shoulds” and share with us what you find! There is no judgment, only awareness. Once we know, then we can change them.

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

    photo courtesy of Ronwuphoto.com

  • A coach for your head?

    I am…a Derailleur.

    I am…a Certified Performance Coach.

    I am…an agent of change.

    I am…certain.

    I am…loud.

    I am…a firm believer in getting outside and playing.

     

    I help prevent broken resolutions one day at a time by offering:

    – Performance Coaching

    – Career Coaching and Development

    – Resume Construction

    – Mental Conditioning for Athletes

    – A Kick-In-The-Ass

     

    As a Derailleur, I help my clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction. I am the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power.

     

    After a good ride, you’re a different person. You’ve changed. You faced a fear. Proved a point. Impressed yourself. It’s like somebody drilling a hole in your brain, inserting all this wonderful scenery, certainty, and freedom. And it forces out the bad stuff. But the ride doesn’t stop when you step off the bike. That’s where I come in…I am here to remind you that you can also change, face fears, prove a point and impress yourself off the bike as well.

     

    Some folks call me a “Life Coach” or a “Head Coach”. But I am more than that. I am all the benefits of a Coach without the annoying whistle some trainers have. I can’t make your body stronger, faster or more flexible but I can help you train your mind to be stronger, faster and more flexible. You are not broken…you don’t need to be fixed. You need support. I do support.

     

    Partnering with Terry Bicycles, we have expanded Ride it Forward so that we’d have a place to post original content about the psychological, emotional, and social aspects relevant to intense exercise or other physical and competitive endeavors. Most of what will happen on this blog, including articles, videos, and pictures, will have some relationship to Cycling. However, there will be something here for you even if you do not consider yourself a Cyclist.  Ride it Forward is a forum where people will be challenged and inspired toward self-reflection and will find ways to make their lives more meaningful. It is a resource for people to learn about sports performance enhancement and access tools to improve training. And I am your tour guide. I won’t always wear the “yellow jersey”…I will invite you, the community to share your stories and wisdom as well. This is a collaboration. Now let’s get going! Contact Amy

     

    Amy Magyar is a Derailleur.  She helps her clients across North America change their gears, their pace, and their direction.  She is the essential piece of equipment to get you where you need to move forward at a different pace and with a different power. As an industry veteran and a Certified Performance Coach, Amy works with individuals who are athletes, were athletes, or wish to be athletes, on navigating change.

    photo courtesy of Ronwuphoto.com