It's Mental!

Some say that the mind is not only a key in sports, but in life.  If this is true, then why do we spend so little time working on it?

Most of the training done by athletes is mainly focused on working the physical muscles.  Little or nothing is done to work the mental muscles.  I think it is striking that most athletes are not aware of the need to work on the mental side of the sport until later on in their professional life (if they ever get there).  Because of this unawareness, young and promising athletes are lost due to mental burn down.

During a keynote speech, Michael Phelps, the most prominent swimmer athlete in our time, pointed out that, “If you want to do something, and you want it that bad, you make sacrifices…”

 He goes on to explain how he missed a lot of things during his youth (going out with friends or a dance), because he had a workout next day. He also talks about how because of that he has been put in uncomfortable situation in which he had to use his mental power to keep on the path to reach his dream. Phelps says that great athletes “do things when they are uncomfortable” and he adds, “everyone can compete when they are feeling good, happy, excited, rested, but it is the best people who can overcome when they are tired, shored, not in the best mindset…”   And finally he emphasizes that, “the mental power that great athletes have can push pain aside”.  So the biggest thing is “how strong you can be mentally”.

Yes, most of the percentage of success from anyone comes from the mental side of the individual. It’s MENTAL!  There is no other way to get to the top and be successful - not just in sports but in life.  We must work on our mental muscle. So how do you work this type of muscle? It is all about self-awareness.

Before we start this amazing adventure to the inside of the mind, we must understand that working our mental muscle takes dedication, patience and discipline. You see, you need to build up the content inside your mind throughout your entire life, which is why it will take some time to update it with new “software” - the software that helps to maximize your potential.

The mind’s hardware is the brain, the one that stores everything that you let inside your mind for retrieval as you need it. In recent years, it has been discovered that the brain has plasticity, meaning that the networks formed by the neurons can be modified.  Group of neurons form the networks of information inside our brain. So, for every experience that we have, there is a specific network that is formed in our brain. The more we have the same experience the stronger the network becomes. The key is to manage whatever goes inside our mind so “good” networks are developed - the ones that maintain experiences supporting our growth and development.

So let me ask you, do you find it difficult to keep moving forward and reaching your goal? Do you feel that you are not reaching your potential? Are you doing things that you know do not support reaching your goals?

IT’S MENTAL!

LET’S KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

Comments

[canada goose down]

thank you

[to be charmlady]

thank you for your post