MK's approach - "One day at a time"

[SGuntur]

Since 2002 Olympics, Michelle has said in so many interviews - "I'm taking it one day at a time; I'm taking it one thing at a time". I think in the end that philosophy has really worked and is the reason why she is ready to go to another olympics. By taking it one day at a time, she did not get overwhelmed or pressured, she worked on one goal at a time (nationals, worlds ....) and one year at a time. Few believed after 2002 that she would go to another olympics. But, she proved them all wrong!! I like her approach very much and have used it myself sometimes. Thinking too far ahead can overwhelm you and paralyse you from taking the first step. Try it, you'll be surprised with the magic of that approach :angel

[berthesghost]

Well, one place where this philosophy clearly backfired was Moscow. Something as important as COP and the fact that we've know that they were going to use it in Torino for quite some time now, clearly deserved a bit of thinking ahead. TeamKwan acted as if they didn't realize Moscow was using COP until the day after nationals. :rolleyes Relisten to her comments about it from worlds, they are very :eek IMHO.

[Vinluvskwan]

Relisten to her comments about it from worlds, they are very IMHO.

What does this statement mean? It is rendered even more vague by your mixed use of emoticons.

Anyway, wouldn't MK have learned from her mistakes of not regarding CoP as much as she clearly does now? So a sarcastic argument represented by emoticons is now a valid counterpoint???

[synnabun]

I think the approach has actually hurt her. Yes, she hasn't been pushed into injuries and exhaustion... but she hasn't gained a complete useful understanding of the COP system. For this past season, at least, she should have gone swinging through the end of the season. I think she should do the GP circuit this season and take it slow, but not too slow. If she doesn't do the GP... she's seriously going to hurt her Oly placement. Right now she needs to make a rough plan of the upcoming season and really really show everyone that she means business.

As far as one day at a time goes... she should still do that, but have those days carefully and usefully planned. Kind of like practicing music... you play the piece, work on your trouble spots, perfect those spots, move on and embellish on the piece... make it a masterpiece!! I think it's the same kind of idea.

Whatever she does, she just needs to keep her goals clear, not push herself too hard and make sure she is happy with what she is doing.

~Bons

[berthesghost]

"Relisten to her comments about it from worlds, they are very "eek" IMHO. "

Hmmm...seems self explainatory to me. I found her comments surprising, almost shocking. She talked about COP as if it was something that had snuck up on them, with references to how they were going to pay it more attention in the future. Well, I should hope so! Moscow was very "wake up and smell the coffee" for team Kwan IMHO, and that has nothing to do with her placement.

No idea where you get this stuff about mixed emotions or sarcasm, or even that sarcasm renders an opinion irrelevant somehow.

Kwan is a smartie, I'm sure that she is working her butt off to succeed. I'm just surprised that she seems so uncharacteriscally behind the scene in Moscow, like she was napping or something. She's got a lot of work to make up for, and taking time off is great, but cramming is hard work and doesn't always pay. Let's hope for the best.

So, like I felt I so clearly stated in my previous post, Moscow is one instance where taking a "one day at a time" approach didn't pay off for her.

[magicalhaven]

You know what though? I've never ever heard her say that she wants to WIN the Olympics.

I've heard her say that she always wanted to GO to the Olympics.

I know this kind of takes us off topic, but I was just reminded by this topic.

If I'm wrong, and someone has heard her say that she wants to win, great.

[attyfan]

Michelle's "one day at a time" approach served her well leading up to her commitment to try for Olys, simply because it got people off of her back. However, she has now committed -- so the need for this approach is over.

BTW -- Michelle has stated (notably after Nagano) that one of her dreams was to make the team, skate well, and win the gold -- she said then that "two out of three isn't bad".

[GMAN]

I believe during the last couple Olympic cycles everyone put so much emphasis on her winning the gold. I cannot imagine the pressure that would be!! You could actually tell during the 2001-2002 season that she wasn't really happy. I'm actually so glad she has decided to not put the emphasis on the big "O" word and has decided to do what's best for her. It's hard to know what the best approach up till now would've been for Michelle, but I'm standing by that what she's done has been the right decision for herself! I think Michelle is in a very vulnerable position, but also in a good one! I think this season won't be emphasised as a season to win that elusive gold but as a season of doing it her way which in the end will be the most satisfying!

[SGuntur]

Peggy Fleming said in an interview once after SLC Olympics, 'How Michelle is able to get up and keep going despite the heart-breaking disappointments she has suffered is beyond me" .
MK has herself said that sometimes she needs to look for inspiration and motivation to keep going. She has to look for a reason to get up and go to the rink everyday and keep up with all the rigorous training. IMO, the reason why Michelle was able to go on and keep going after 2002 slc is due to her approach of taking one thing at a time. After all, it seemed like she did everything right the first 2 times, she had worked hard and trained hard and her dream still didn't come true. After 2002, it must have been incredibly difficult for her to find the motivation and to think ahead to 4 years later. Here's where her approach of taking one thing at a time helped her I think.
Since 2002 Olympics, she has won 3 National titles, 1 World Gold, 1 World silver and 1 World bronze. That is not a small feat by any means

[SkateWorlds1]

I tend to agree with you. My impression of Michelle's team was that they did act like CoP snuck up on them. I remember thinking this at the time. I'm keeping good thoughts for Michelle for the new season.

[MKGrace]

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>So a sarcastic argument represented by emoticons is now a valid counterpoint??? <hr></blockquote> A valid counterpoint to what? I know it's dense but I don't understand what that entire sentence means. I know I'm dense so maybe that's why I missed the sarcasm in BerthesGhost's post but I don't see that either.

Anyway I agree that "one day at a time" didn't work related to Worlds because that required a lot of planning and preparation, moreso than usual. I do think it's a good strategy for this coming season because there's so much pressure in an Olympic season, and it's important not to get overwhelmed or freaked out.

[gatzbee]

BGOI, yes i def. remember those comments. i remember she even said something to the effect that she just "sort of guessed" (not exact quote) what level some elements were. im not sure WUT happened from nats to worlds, but rather odd decisions (to me) were made on the choreography. her realization that it's not HOW you do it, but WHAT you do that will earn you those points kinda explained to me why certain nice new combo spins she inserted into bolero at marshalls were never seen again. i was sort of surprised at her comments. however, the fact is that had she not faltered so much in the QR and LP, her results prolly would've been very different, at least get her on the podium, of course presuming that all the other skaters would have skated the same... also, hopefully she is training herself not to have such loonnnggg setups into jumps. i mean the kwan of today isn't the kwan of the teenage yr.'s, but just check out MM in 2000 (only a couple yrs ago). her last lutz, she just went right into it.

anyhow, before i digress TOO much, i do think her plan for One Day At a Time, has had its plusses and minuses. i def. think she may be more fueled this time around than last time. in the SLC yr, she seemed sort of burnt out before the season even really began. whatever the case, the more ppl put her in the underdog position the better i think. however hopefully that doesn't translate into the judges also not seeing kwan anymore as intn'l gold material and not giving her the scores she deserves....

[rubyred]

If someone tells me that I have to get up at 6:00a.m. and run 3 miles every single morning for the next ten years, taking one day at a time approach is the only way I can face this incredibly challenging task. Then, if the entire world is watching over my progress AND I am expected to run faster every single season with a better form, the pressure I would feel is unbearable. In case of Michelle, on top of all these, she is expected to perform to the fullest to her potential every single time she gets on the ice and to win. My goodness. To me, it is just incredible to see Michelle showing up at every Nationals and Worlds in the past decade, and keep up with practice consistently for... more than 10 years! She neither lost a triple nor got out of shape even once in the past decade. This itself is an incredible accomplish. I am simply happy for Michelle to be injury free in this extremely demanding sports and keeping such a positive attitude and persepctive at this point of her life not only as a skater but as a person.

:SE

We believe!

[nymkfan51]

Very well said Keiko! :) You hit the nail on the head!!!

[SGuntur]

Thank you Keiko; I think you "got" what I was trying to say and my perspective on MK's approach

[missmarysgarden]

Keiko - I agree with you completely. I think that Michelle's approach to training is unparallelled among all skaters in the world, past and present. No one can match her for consistency, soundness and a record of delivering the goods. I think Michelle is an example to everyone of us on how to set both short and long term goals, know when to rest and when to charge ahead. In all quests, the hardest thing is to balance short and long term goals. The balancing act means that sometimes you risk the short for the long, and vice versa. But its a dynamic process, and you have to re-evaluate frequently and fine tune your work towards your goal. I wish I had one-tenth of the wisdom and self-discipline, patience and fortitude that this amazing young woman has. Who are we to judge? I find Michelle to be perfectly marvelous. And what's more perfect than that? And I also expect that if Michelle misses her "big goal" or any of the "little goals" along the way, she will take it with more grace than any of us.

[GinnySmith]

Awesome post. If I had to pick a single paragraph to describe Michelle's competitive career, her attitude and the expectations and pressures she's had to deal with, yours is it. If you don't mind, I'm going to print it out and keep it next to my PC. Thanks! :D

[kwanette]

Keiko, Add me to the list of kudo-givers..Terrific post..Right on the money..

[ExoticFlower213]

I think the one day at a time approach worked well for the season immediately after SLC, obviously resulting in her nationals and world victory. But I think she should have picked it up after that. Yeah, 2004 Tosca wasn't bad, I actually liked the program unlike some naysayers who said it was ARanjuez with different music. Especially, this year, with COP and all...she seemed to be unsure if she would compete at the Olympics assuming she made the team...but I think we all knew in our hearts that no way would Michelle have stuck to skating all this time if she meant to pull out right before Torino. She's earned the right to be laid back, but I think that has hurt Michelle this year. So hopefully in the coming season she'll plough on ahead full-steam without burning herself out.

And hiring Tarasova to chreograph isn't a bad start! ;)

[rubyred]

Thank you for your kindest feedback and support! :angel

GinnySmith--Of course, I don't mind! Such an honor.

[berthesghost]

"She neither lost a triple nor got out of shape even once in the past decade."

From your lips to God's ears.

Please let me see that 3loop back come September, and the 3t/3t making a comeback after a 4 year absence wouldn't kill me either.

[TAF2984]

Keiko, I am not so sure if that example of the runner holds up completely in reference to MK in some ways, but that was still a very good post.

In any case, BGOI and ExoticFlower, you make very good points, which I agree with regarding this past season. There could have been a more organized, better approach to worlds. Let's just hope team Kwan is able to take from the experience at worlds and build on it for next season!

[lillyfly]

Great analysis Keiko7.