Mindset Matters

When you fear. Make sure to think of all the training you have put into your craft. My guess is there have been a lot of lonely nights, some blood, some sweat, some tears, and some triumphs. Let those triumphs and trainings marinate in your mind. Trust those experiences. Have Faith in your abilities. Doubt your doubts. There are good things coming.

The science is clear, without rest and recovery…you are more likely to get fatigued. There is an increase of stress and tension. Overall, you will process things slower. All of these can lead to decreased performance. It can also lead to injury and illness. And we all know that in sport and in the workplace, your best ability is availability. Make sure you know and learn how to rest and recover. It can make all the difference.

You need to pick someone who is further along the path to mentor you. You need to find someone who is behind you on the path to teach and advise, and you need to find an equal to compete with to help you to reach deeper within.

Seek the good. Just like your diet, garbage in the body means garbage out. When you seek and find and put positive things into your mind, the result is going to be better self-talk. The result of better self-talk will be better confidence. The result of better confidence is better outcomes. And when you start seeing better outcomes, your motivation will feed itself.

Add an intention of enthusiasm to everything you do today. If you are working out, put a little more enthusiasm into it. If you are working, put a little more enthusiasm into it. If you are playing, put a little more enthusiasm into it. It will not only change you, it will change those that are around you for good.

In essence, the phrase “go first” allows you to practice being uncomfortable. Getting comfortable being uncomfortable is one of the best ways to build confidence. The phrase “go first” allows you to be authentic, vulnerable, and courageous. Going first causes people to want to follow you and to work with you. The phrase “go first” will allow you to have a positive influence on your teammates, your co-workers, and your family. Going first creates a successful mindset. And if you can control your mind, you can control your performance.

In times of adversity, there are many places to turn. There are quotes, scriptures, and books written about this subject that can be tremendously helpful. Seek them out. Read them. Embrace them. They help. All of them.

God can’t steer a parked car. So start driving. There is help, there is guidance, there are good things to come. Trust your training. Trust your gut. It may be the very thing that keeps your wings from being weighed down with mist and humidity, and the very thing that gets you to where you need to be.

Come home with your sword or on it. In other words, be all in with your actions! Leave nothing for the journey back.

Work hard at being good to yourself with good self talk habits. It can make all the difference.

Here are a few things that I think we can control. Attitude, effort, enthusiasm, nutrition, sleep, preparation, and maybe most importantly, we can control our reaction to our circumstances. We can control our breathing. We can control how we frame our situation. And ultimately, we have control of our gratitude. How cool is that? That’s it. It’s that simple. Control what you can, and let go of the rest.

Gratitude has a direct correlation to self-confidence. Confidence is directly related to performance. In other words, being grateful can improve performance.

Your daily thoughts have a negative or a positive impact on you every day. Choose your words wisely.

The 40% rule is not just a motivational statement. There is science to back it up. We are much more physically and mentally capable than we allow ourselves to be. In study after study, this is proven. In one study, researchers found that if you give a subject a placebo tablet, and claim that it has caffeine in it, the subjects were able to lift significantly more weight than those who were really given caffeine.

So today, when you are struggling. Get moving and start working. When it’s tough, keep going. If it’s difficult, persevere. If you feel like quitting, press on. When they tell you that you can’t do it, ignore them. This particular storm that you are facing may be the exact reason that you reach your full potential. Face the storm, take a deep breath, shoulders back, and chin up. You’ve got this.

They knew that whether the criticism was positive or negative, they just needed the information so they could get better. The great one’s always want the info. Some coaches, and some bosses for that matter, are better at delivering criticism than others. Why do you care? I ask athletes all the time what the difference is between constructive criticism and criticism. Do you know? The difference is simply HOW YOU RECEIVE IT.

If you are leading a team, or if you are coaching yourself, know what the strengths and weaknesses are. If you are the coach, put the players in positions to succeed based on their strengths. If you are your own coach, make sure that you are focused on developing your strengths as much, if not more, than you focus on your weaknesses. Finding these talents can contribute greatly to the success of your team, and more importantly, to your own performance.

The great one's break down complex subjects and tasks into simplified parts. How have you simpilfied lately? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Don't overanalyze, get to work.

When was the last time you took inventory about how you talk to yourself? What did you think? Are you positive with yourself? Are you patient with yourself? Recent studies reveal interesting feedback as to what you say when you talk to yourself.

What do you want to do? Why do you want to do it? How are you going to start? These are great questions that can lead to great performance. The answers can unlock performance.