It all started during the first few months of COVID. I had offered several online workshops for coaches and wanted to continue to share mental game information to help athletes work through the unknown of the times that we were living in.
Fast forward to today and Tip#100. COVID is still a very familiar term and the mental game struggles we deal with as leaders and athletes look very familiar as well.
I have learned A TON over the past 100 weeks, and I am humbled by those of you who continue to read (and watch or listen) weekly to my thoughts on helping all of us use our talent and training to their fullest. And I am extremely grateful for those of you who reach out with your thoughts or a simple “good one, Julie” to my weekly messages.
I am also grateful to the guy who said “delete me from this B.S.” As Malcolm X said, “If you have no critics, you'll likely have no success.” All of you who lead know that the only way to avoid criticism is to keep your thoughts to yourself and since I am planning on hundreds more of these, I expect there to be more “B.S” comments along the way!
Over the past 100 tips, the many thousands of thoughts that went into them and the work I have done in the meantime with teams, athletes, coaches and business leaders, one thing has become crystal clear.
We are our competition! I am mine and you are yours!
We compete every moment with and against our own choices. AND WE STAND IN OUR OWN WAY FAR TOO OFTEN!
We each may have our special way of getting in the way… in our thoughts, our beliefs, our actions or reactions. But each of us, at one point or another, has a propensity to find ways to screw up the things we are well equipped to do!
We talk ourselves out of things. We seek proof that we can’t or shouldn’t do something. We believe the B.S. that floats around and around and around in our heads. We lose confidence. We catastrophize. We think about the thing that can go and have gone wrong. We fear failure. We worry about what others will think or say. And, unfortunately, this is not an exhaustive list!
If you don’t find yourself in that list somewhere…GOOD FOR YOU (and call me so I can figure out the secret sauce since success leaves clues!)
Since most of us can relate to at least one thing on that list and we can all recount at least one time that thing changed the way we performed, we know that learning to manage these things can make a big difference.
But how? What will make a difference? (One option is to call me and set up training for your staff or team, of course 😊).
I truly believe that mental toughness and peak performance begin and end with our choices.
We get to choose which thoughts take up that precious “one thought at a time” space in our heads.
We get to choose how we look at a situation.
We get to choose how we react and then how we respond.
We get to decide the meaning we assign to words, feelings and events.
We get to decide how we talk to ourselves and how we listen to ourselves.
We get to decide our routines and habits.
We get to decide what gets our attention.
We get to decide how quickly we refocus when we are drawn away from the task at hand.
All these things are a choice.
No one else decides any of these things for us.
Unfortunately, making the right choices in all these areas is sometimes HARD.
We don’t wake up one day and have the skills or even the wherewithal to be proficient at any of these.
They take training.
Choosing the things that are productive for our performance in any of these areas takes attention, intention and repetition, just like the building of any skill (and a guide 😊).
Think about the ramifications of consistent poor choices in any of these areas? What is the ultimate toll on performance?
To be our best, we must control ourselves before we can control anything else, and that control starts in the 6 inches between our ears and managing all the things on the aforementioned list!
If we truly want to perform at our best, having systems and plans of “if….then” or “when….then” sound resets and solid habits and routines will enable us to manage our tendency to get in our own way and better deal with the obstacles that come our way.
But before we can put plans together, we need to evaluate how thoughts, emotions and actions and reactions affect our ability to use our training and talent to their fullest.
Performance of any kind is hard.
It forces us to leave our comfort zones to excel. It also forces us to face failure, hard stuff and lots and lots of obstacles. It’s not if something goes wrong. It’s when. And to excel, then having a plan for our next best move.
Being aware of what trips us up and having an intentional plan to stay out of our way, helps us move away from competing against ourselves as an opponent and on to competing against who we used to be, improving with everything little thing we begin to manage and moving toward our peak.
This is an exciting competition and one that moves us forward to being our best selves!
So THANK YOU for making the choice to follow these tips.
I hope the first 100 have reminded you of things you already knew but needed to reassert into your training. I hope they have challenged your thinking and the way you look at your choices. I hope they have challenged those you lead. And, ultimately, I hope they have made a positive impact on how you think, feel, act and perform.
I look forward to Tip #101 and many many more! One tip at a time :)!
Manage your choices and manage the moments!
If I can help you or those you lead build the important mental skills needed to enhance your training and talent, please contact me and let's put a plan together today!
Have a wonderful week!
Julie
P.S. Please remember to share the link below with your colleagues and sign up today!
July 12 @ 12:00 pm EST – It Starts with You, Coach! FREE workshop for coaches and leaders – Click HERE
Julie Jones
Certified Mental Performance & Mindset Coach
SSB Performance
www.ssbperformance.com
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
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