What is Aligning, and Why Does it Matter?

What is aligning?

Have you ever walked off after training or competitions feeling strangely unsatisfied, even after performing well? Or the opposite, feeling proud and fulfilled, even though the result didn’t go your way? The difference has less to do with the outcome and more to do with something deeper - alignment.

Aligning means acting in ways that reflect what really matters to you.

It’s when your actions, decisions, and behaviors match your values — the qualities that define who you want to be, both as an athlete and as a person.

It’s easy to get pulled by external pressures — winning, selection, expectations, comparison. You might be chasing what you think you should want, rather than what genuinely drives you. Or perhaps your environment doesn’t fully support the goals or vision that you have. Usually, this is where disconnection begins. 

What are values?

Your values are the things that are deeply important to you. They reflect who you want to be, not who you think you should be or how others expect you to act. Values are about providing direction; they act as your internal compass. 

Maybe you value respect, so when a teammate gets criticized unfairly, you choose to support them rather than stay silent. Or maybe you value growth, so you focus on learning from every competition instead of defining yourself by wins and losses. Are you curious about what those words are at the footer of this website? Those are my personal values.

Why is aligning with your values so important?

When you intentionally choose actions that embody your values, you can’t really go wrong! Your values point you towards what drives you, and help you live and act according to your “why”. 

By asking yourself, “Did I show up as the person I want to be?” or “Did I stay true to myself?”, performance improves as well. This is because you’re no longer chasing an outcome; your focus becomes more grounded, and your actions become within your control.

Values are also powerful when it comes to setting goals. When your goals are built around what matters most to you, they stay flexible and meaningful even when results change. Sport and performance is a volatile field, with outcomes shifting and performances going up and down. Your values remain steady and provide you with a framework to stay purposeful despite setbacks.

A step towards alignment:

Think about someone you deeply admire in your life - a role model, teammate, coach, or anyone who inspires you. What is it about them that stands out? Why do you admire those traits? Is it their composure under pressure? Their honesty? Chances are, they connect deeply to your own core values. 

I’d also advise you to think about the definitions of those characteristics. For example, if it’s confidence, what does that mean to you? To me, confidence is “being able to walk into the unknown”. For others, confidence might be defined as “acting on my judgment without hesitation”. The most important thing is not necessarily the word but the way the characteristic is defined to you.

I’d like you to define a value for yourself, in no more than one or two sentences. On a scale of 1-10, how much have you been in acting in line with that definition? What does it look like in your behaviour, and how can you intentionally show more of that or act more in alignment with that value?

Curious to explore this further? We’ll work on what truly drives you and how you can bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.