Learn to let go. That is the key to happiness.
-The Buddha
Learn to let go. That is the key to success.
Thinking too much—Bad.
Putting too much pressure on results—Bad.
Letting go and trusting your game—Good.
You can think during practice, but during competition, just trust your hard work and have fun.
Take a moment and think about a past peak performance you had. Didn’t you play loose? Weren’t you just playing?
The more you can let go, the better your results.
Anthony Robles has just become the NCAA Division 1 National Champion for wrestling. And Anthony Robles has only one leg. Watch this inspiring interview.
Golfer, Jack Nicklaus (above) once said…
When fear starts to hit me, my best chance of overcoming it lies in facing it squarely and examining it rationally. Here’s what I tell myself. ‘OK, what are you frightened of? You’ve obviously played well or you wouldn’t be here…Well, go ahead and enjoy yourself. Play each shot one at a time and meet the challenge.’
Pressure is created in your mind. It is your choice whether you look at a situation as pressure or as a challenge. Who doesn’t love a challenge?
The next time you are in a “pressure” situation, coach yourself like Jack Nicklaus and react rationally. If your thoughts are irrational, accept them, let them go and then go out and kick some butt.
Manny Banuelos, New York Yankees, Spring Training 2011
Have you ever been nervous before a big game?
Have you ever tightened up at a crucial point in a game?
Have you ever doubted yourself?
Of course you have, you’re human.
One thing I have unearthed by talking to some of the greatest athletes in the world is that the world champions and the weekend warriors feel the same feelings. They think the same thoughts. So what sets them apart?
Their perception of the situation.
The actions that they take.
Yankee pitcher, Manny Banuelos just turned 20 years old on Sunday. And on Monday, he was slated to pitch on ESPN versus the Boston Red Sox. The biggest game of his life.
What did he do?
He pitched 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits, 3 walks and striking out 2.
Pretty impressive for someone who was a teenager just two days before.
What’s more impressive is how Man-Ban reacted to the pressure.
His perception was excitement, not pressure.
Banuelos admits he gets nervous, but it doesn’t last long.
In the second inning, Banuelos got into a jam, having the bases loaded and only one out. He stepped it up and forced the next two hitters to ground out.
Then, on his last pitch, the pressure was on again with a 3-2 count. He threw a change-up to Kevin Youkllis and struck him out.
Wow.
The bottom line is that you can either let pressure hurt you or you can let it help you. It’s your choice how you react, and if you are able to do your best when it means the most.
It is then that you will be unstoppable.
Speaking of being unstoppable, I shared my new mental skills workbook, “How to be Unstoppable” with some of the Yankees players when I was down at Spring Training last week. You can pick up your own copy by clicking HERE.
Manny Banuelos is the talk of Yankee Spring Training. Many are calling him the best Yankee pitching prospect ever. And he doesn’t even turn 20 years old until Sunday.
Banuelos has no fear. Why?
Because he doesn’t like there’s pressure. He has the confidence that his skills are as good as anyone else’s, and instead of trying to be perfect, Banuelos is aggressive and goes all-out.
It’s better to go all-out and lose than it is to hold back and win. When you hold back and win, you are training yourself to hold back.
No successful athlete ever said, I made it to the Hall of Fame by holding back.
Go all-out today!
I recently sent this secret formula to a pitcher on the New York Yankees via Facebook message:
T + T + T + T + T = C
Today + Today + Today + Today + Today = Your Career
The best way to have a Hall of Fame career is to ACT like a Hall of Famer TODAY. Then do it again tomorrow. And the next day and the next day…
Focusing on the past and the future is weak.
Focusing on the present moment is powerful.
Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Julie Martin-Kolb. Happy Belated Birthday to a passionate tennis mom!
I love hitting aces while playing tennis, but there is an ACE I like even more…
ACE—Acting Changes Everything
The other day I was watching some tennis players and when they hit a good shot, they had great body language and looked extremely confident. But when they missed a shot, they had terrible body language and looked extremely negative.
Here’s what Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer know…
You don’t have to act how you feel. You can feel tired, negative or not into it, but you can still ACT like you are energetic, positive and totally into it. The best part is that when you start acting like the player you want to be, you start feeling like the player you want to be.
Most people have it reversed.
Greg Maddux was one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.
Maddux once left a game with a 2-1 lead, in the seventh inning. The reliever gave up a run to tie the game, which ruined Maddux’ chances of getting the win; frustration for any pitcher. But when Maddux was asked after the game, “How did it go out there tonight?” his reply was, “Fifty out of seventy-three.”
What does this mean?
It means he threw fifty strikes out of seventy-three pitches.
Maddux knows the secret. The key to being a successful is to focus on your execution, not the results. If you stick with your plan and execute properly, your job is done. The beauty of this is, you will get better results. On the other hand, if you focus on things out of your control, like results, the media, or the approval of others, you will decrease your chances of getting the results you want.
What was Maddux’ mantra?
“One at a time.”
How can you argue with someone who won 355 games in his career?
*BONUS FACT*
Greg Maddux faced 20,421 batters in his career and only 310 of them saw a 3-0 count (approximately one in every three starts).
Confidence is one of the keys to success. There are many sources of confidence, such as hard work, body language, past achievements, etc.
Try giving yourself a steady diet of positive thoughts and affirmations, throughout your day, and especially during competition. You get what you focus on, but unfortunately, most people focus on the negative, or what they don’t want to happen.
Here are some sample affirmations:
“I am a confident athlete who goes all-out, whether I feel like it or not, and inspires others to do the same.”
“When the pressure is greatest, I love competition the most.”
Your affirmations:
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A fellow coach recently told me a story. When he was younger, he faced a young phenom seven times. Going into his final match, his record was 6-0 against this young player. In their final match, however, this coach was losing 2-5 in the third set. It was then that he approached this young phenom and said, “Listen, I’m telling you right now that I’m going to beat you and this will be the last time we face each other.”
You know what?
He DID come back and win, and it WAS the last time they played each other.
Yes, this coach got into his opponent’s head, but his opponent let him.
Do you want someone else to control your mind, or do you want to control your mind?