Mind of a Champion
How many times did you hear a true champion speak with doubt?
How many times did you hear a boxer say, "It will be a tough
fight, we will just have to wait until Saturday and see how it
all works out"? Never, because doubt will knock you out before
you even begin.
The athletes that are remembered are always those that performed
memorably during times of pressure. I say memorably because they
could be remembered for choking or rising to the occasion.
Anyone who has played competitive sports knows that there is a
different feeling during a play-off game, but as with all things
in life, that by itself is not a bad thing, it is all in the way
you handle it.
People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of
them- Epictetus 200AD
If you let self-doubt enter your mind, anxiety is sure to grow.
Once you start to doubt whether you are capable of winning
you're on your way to disaster because the mind can only hold
one thought at a time. You are either thinking of winning, and
visualizing what winning will be like, or you are worrying about
what happens if you don't win. You can only hold one picture at
a time. Sure some athletes waver back and forth, but at any
given time you can only be holding one thought.
What the mind sees, feels, and thinks, it works towards. The
mind needs to be given direction and then it works towards
making that given destination a reality. The mind is constantly
working towards results, the trouble is what directions are we
giving the mind. When you learn how to control your mind,
greatness is achievable. Learning how to think like a winner is
the first step towards becoming a winner.
To Become a champion, you must first look and act like a
champion. - Muhammad Ali
Some people say you cannot control what comes into your mind. I
believe with the proper training... you can. Regardless of
whether or not you can or cannot control what enters your mind,
you can definitely control how long you hold any thought that
does enter your mind. If a seagull decides to have a bowel
movement while flying overhead, you cannot exactly control
that... but you sure the heck can control how quickly you clean
yourself off.
It is the same with your mind. When a negative thought enters,
clean it out with a flood of positive images. Focus on what you
want, not on what you don't want. Focus on winning, not on not
losing. Begin to daydream, make this daydream the ideal outcome.
Not what you will settle for, but what would be perfect.
It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think
you are not. - Denis Waitley