"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing." — Harriet Braiker

Many a great athlete has spoken about peak performance being a state of mind as well as a physical state. One need only look at the phenomenon of "choking" to see how important mental fitness is to athletic performance. The principal reason an athlete chokes under pressure is that he allows self-doubt to creep into his mind and affect his execution of the physical activity.

Before we even consider a course of action to pursue fitness and health, we must understand that the modern world is out of balance with too much stress, unhealthy diet&exercise practices, obsessive/compulsive behavior, materialism/consumerism. We are faced with Hype, Shortcuts and Gimmicks when we pursue healthy diet or exercise techniques.

The most common and most costly mistake made by casual and serious exercisers alike is habitual overtraining, which results in a decline in health, fitness and motivation levels. Exercise is a form of physical stress to your body. When you exercise, you are actually fatiguing your muscle fibers, heart, lungs and other systems of your body.

You have all heard about athletes being 'in the zone'. And some of you may at one point in time experienced the zone. And even more of you have not experienced the zone or are not quite sure if you have experienced the zone. Well NOW is your chance to create the zone in you.

Being physically gifted is only one attribute of a successful athlete. There are many others that are not so easily quantified such as drive, ambition, determination, and the ability to focus mentally through adversity. These mental skills are not genetically imposed, but are learned from a variety of sources such as parents, coaches, sport psychologists and other athletes.

One of the most powerful terms used in world sport for decades is the mental state called 'the zone'. This is the mental state which produces super-human performances, amazing times and winning streaks.

What you believe is more important than anything when you are about to begin a triathlon.

What thoughts and emotions go through your mind in the 10 minutes before an event begins? This question may be crucial to your triathlon results. It seems that the more science discovers about the human mind, the more important the power of thought becomes, especially in an event as mentally and physically taxing as triathlon.

Meters away from the finish line of your "A" race, and another age grouper passes you to beat you out for the top spot. How did that happen? You've trained harder and been more diligent in all your recovery than anyone else you know, especially the person that just smoked you to the finish line. Where did you go wrong you wonder?