Finish Where Your Feet Are!
- Julie Jones
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Mindset Made Simple Tip #289 -
Watch or listen HERE!
This is the time of year when focus can start to drift.
You see it in practice. You feel it in games. You hear it in conversations.
Athletes start thinking about the upcoming tournament rather than the next opponent. Coaches start looking at standings and scenarios. (I remember my assistant’s scribbled-up notebook with who needs to do what and where we would be if…then!) Families are already talking about summer plans and vacations (and some of our players do, too…while we’re still trying to win a championship! SMH 😉!
And it makes sense.
We’ve been grinding for months. There’s excitement ahead. There’s relief from a tired body that’s held together by physio tape on the horizon.
But here’s the problem: We can’t finish strong if we’re already somewhere else.
When our mind drifts forward, our performance slips backward.
It’s been a while… 81 days, to be exact, since I wrote my last Tip.
And part of that is because, over the past several months, it has been hard to be where my feet are. I had a streak of more than 5 years going... 288 weeks straight!!
And then it stopped.
At first, it was I was looking ahead… trying to manage what was coming. Then it was I was looking behind… trying to make sense of what had already happened. And then, if I’m being honest, it was both… looking behind at all I lost, all while looking ahead at a different life, a different season,
and trying to figure out who I was in it.
Losing my dad changed things.
But it also taught me a lot.
And one of the biggest lessons has been this: When we’re somewhere else, we’re just a little less locked in. A little less intentional. A little less sharp.
Not because we don’t care. But because our attention is divided.
And this time of year, I see it everywhere. Strong finishes don’t happen by accident. They happen through presence. Through being where your feet are.
So how do we fight the drift that happens no matter where we are in the standings or in life?
Here are a few simple tools we can use right now:
1. Win This Rep! Instead of thinking about the next game, the next round, or the next weekend, bring it back to now. This rep. This pitch. This possession.
Pressure shrinks when your focus gets smaller.
How do we win when we don’t control winning? We win by working our plan! We choose. We trust. We commit. And we accept the result…because we controlled what we can control…and that is success!
2. Name the Drift! When your mind jumps ahead, don’t ignore it. Call it out.
“I’m thinking about the tournament.” “I’m thinking about vacation.” Once you name it, you can reset it.
3. Reset With Your Body! This was huge for me as a coach! My final season at Cleveland State, we were good! I loved watching that team play! It never failed that in the 6th, I’d start thinking “we’re going to win 40 games!” And guess what…I’d lose focus…and we are CONTAGIOUS, aside from the fact that when I’m in la la land, I’m not doing my job!
So, my reset saved me more times than I can count! Keep it simple: Take one breath in. Longer breath out. Relax your shoulders. Widen your eyes or dial them in!
Your body can pull your mind back faster than your thoughts can. Simple but intentional works!!
And, finally, Stay a LITTLE LONGER! Whether you’re a coach or an athlete, this matters.
Finish the drill. Finish the conversation. Finish the moment. And while you’re finishing, make sure you are REALLY THERE! In this race to the top, we are constantly rushing to what’s next!
But finishing strong is not about a big moment. It’s about stacking small, present moments over and over again.
Every team says they want to finish strong. But not every team is willing to stay present long enough to do it.
Be the team that does. Be where your feet are.
That’s how you close the gap. That’s how you build momentum. That’s how you finish your race the right way.
It's good to be HERE!
Julie
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
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