MESSAGE #1463 PHIL HUGHES GETS NEGATIVE?
Phil Hughes is an All-Star and World Series Champion with the New York Yankees. I spoke with Phil on Tuesday at South Street Seaport in New York City for Day 2 of the Yankees’ HOPE Week.
I asked Hughes what he does when he has a bad day.
“I call my dad,” Hughes responded with a laugh.
I followed up with, “Do you ever have a negative voice inside your head?”
“Oh yeah, I do,” said Hughes.
“We ALL do,” chimed in pitcher, Steve Garrison.
“You have to have a short-term memory,” Hughes added.
What does this mean for you?
If an All-Star and World Champion gets negative, it’s okay if YOU get negative.
The key is to be like Phil and let it go and move on. You can certainly LEARN from the past, but you shouldn’t LIVE in the past.
Be like Phil Hughes today!
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
ed@edtseng.com
MESSAGE #1452 HANG ON
A big part of sports (and life) is persistence. Hanging on.
When I gave my recent talk at TEDxPrincetonLibrary, I talked about the word “hope” being an acronym—Hold On Possibilities Exist.
What do most people do when adversity strikes?
They give up.
Do you know what the great ones do?
They hang on until they catch on.
They get fascinated instead of frustrated.
They get intrigued instead of irritated.
If you stick with it when times are tough, you will most likely come out on top.
Why? Because not many people will be left.
If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get what everyone else gets.
Be great today.
MESSAGE #1451 CONFIDENCE
Without confidence, a golfer is little more than a hacker.
-Bobby Jones
Feel free to substitute the word “golfer” for “tennis player,” “salesperson,” or “musician.”
MESSAGE #1440 THE TIME IS NOW
Recently I created a type of meditation called, the “Now” Meditation, inspired after talking mental toughness with a former New York Yankee. Here it is:
1. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths (in through the nose for four seconds, out through the nose for four seconds).
2. Clear your mind from thoughts and external distractions by repeating the word, “now,” bringing you to the present moment.
3. Your mind may wander, this is normal. When this happens, just accept the thought or distraction and go back to focusing on the word, “now.”
One of the keys to sports success is relaxing under pressure. With the “Now” Meditation, you will be able to relax any time, any where, whether it is before a competition, test, or presentation. Kung-fu masters use something similar called xi sui to keep a clear mind.
With practice, this meditation will also help YOU become more focused, relaxed and able to do your best when it means the most.
Practicing the “now” meditation only takes a few minutes, so there’s no excuse not to do it, even on holidays.
Speaking of holidays…
Happy Fourth of July!
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
ed@edtseng.com
MESSAGE #1432 I’M A SALESPERSON
Did you know, in addition to coaching, speaking and writing, I am in sales?
I actually have the most difficult sales job—I sell people on themselves.
Let me explain…
I feel that the biggest sickness in this country is low self-esteem. Many people don’t believe in themselves, or feel that success is possible.
“I can’t beat that player.”
“I can’t start my own business.”
“I can’t get good grades.”
I was coaching a high school tennis player the other day and by the end of the lesson, he was a totally different player.
Guess what?
I didn’t work on his technique much at all.
I worked on his attitude, effort and reactions to situations. I was selling him on himself.
In my recent TEDxPrincetonLibrary talk, I spoke about the greatest joke.
The greatest joke is the one-liner we keep telling ourselves. A limiting belief.
You can only become as good as your self-image.
What’s YOUR self-image?
For a free 10-minute peak performance consultation, call 609.558.1077 or email ed@edtseng.com.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
ed@edtseng.com
MESSAGE #1409 A MENTAL TOUGHNESS SECRET
In Steve Siebold’s book, 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, Secret #92 is “The World Class Catapults Their Consciousness By Overcoming Obstacles.” On the page, there is a quote by author, Thomas Carlyle…
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the path of the weak, becomes a stepping-stone in the path of the strong.
The action step Siebold recommends is: Make a list of the three biggest obstacles you currently face. Next, determine the worst thing that could possibly happen if you decided to mount an all-out assault to overcome them. If you can live with the worst-case scenario, suspend your fear and attack your obstacles as if it is impossible to fail. If you succeed, your self-confidence will soar. If you fail, you will live to fight another day.
Wow. That’s powerful stuff.
MESSAGE #1401 CHOKE
Recently, cognitive science and performance expert, Sian Beilock sent me a copy of her new book, “Choke.”
People choke all the time, in sports and life. Below are some anti-choke techniques that Beilock recommends.
1. Distract yourself—Sing a song or even thinking about your pinky toe as Jack Nicklaus was rumored to do can help prevent the prefrontal cortex from regulating too closely movement that should run outside awareness.
2. Don’t slow down—Don’t give yourself too much time to think and to control your highly practiced putt, free throw, or penalty kick. Just do it.
3. Practice under stress—Practicing under the exact conditions you will face in a do-or-die situation is exactly what is needed to perform your best when the stress is on. Get used to the pressure so competition is not something you fear. Also, by understanding when pressure happens, you can create situations that will maximize the stress in your opponents.
4. Don’t dwell—Take that past performance and change how you think about it. See your failures as a chance to learn how to perform better in the future.
5. Focus on the outcome, not the mechanics—Focusing on the goal, where the ball will land in the net, helps cue your practiced motor programs to run flawlessly.
6. Find a key word—A one-word mantra (such as smooth during a golf stroke) can keep you focused on the end result rather than the step-by-step processes of performance.
7. Focus on the positive—Don’t be helpless. If you focus on the negative this can make you feel out of control and increase the likelihood that you will not work as hard to obtain future performance goals.
8. Cure the yips by changing your grip—An alteration in your performance technique reprograms the circuits you need to execute your shot, hopefully clearing your brain and body of the motor hiccup.
Thank you, Sian.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
ed@edtseng.com
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