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
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On Tuesday, I was honored to be one of the people honored by the New York Yankees as part of HOPE Week. For approximately five years, I have been a mentor for Tuesday’s Children, a wonderful organization which began helping children who lost a parent in 9/11.
I became a volunteer mentor because I wanted to make a difference in a child’s life. It turned out to be the opposite – a child has made a difference in my life. I have a feeling this week, the Yankees have a similar attitude.
This amazing day consisted of mentors and mentees attending a beach party at South Street Seaport…with the New York Yankees. Highlights included lunch, ping pong, a water balloon fight, photos, autographs, a water taxi ride, a private Yankee Stadium tour, on field for batting practice…all with the Yankees.
To the Yankees, HOPE stands for: Helping Others Persevere and Excel. This is their way of giving back, but like the volunteer that I am, the Yankees reap the benefits of their charity. All of the players I spoke to felt that HOPE Week is one of their favorite weeks of the year, and it puts everything into perspective.
Even though I was one of the honorees, I was thinking about you (yes you) and how I could help you persevere and excel.
On the beach, I had a wonderful conversation with Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in the history of baseball. I asked him what he did when he didn’t feel confident. His answer replayed in my mind the rest of the day…
“You don’t ask a professional what he does when he doesn’t feel confident. A professional should always be confident. A better question is, ‘What do you do when you aren’t at your BEST?'”
Let’s analyze Mo’s answer.
Rivera says that you should always act confident (regardless of how you feel). He focuses on the positives versus the negatives. When he re-phrased my question, he didn’t say, “What do you do when you are at your WORST?” He, instead, chose to use a more powerful word, “BEST.”
Mariano Rivera doesn’t focus on results, he focuses on the process. I asked him what he thinks about when he pitches. His answer?
The catcher’s mitt.
You don’t have to be the best closer in the history of baseball to have the mindset of a champion.
Stay positive, and focus on the process instead of the results and you too can reach peak performance.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
My ambition is not to be just a good fighter. I want to be great, something special.
-Sugar Ray Leonard
HOW GOOD DO YOU WANT TO BE?
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2011-07-25 23:03:132011-07-25 23:03:13MESSAGE #1461 A MESSAGE FROM SUGAR RAY
Remember this secret equation for peak performance…
E + R = O
Event + Response = Outcome
Much of success comes from our reactions in situations. If you lose a point or miss a shot, much of the time, it’s your reaction that will determine your results. Will you think a negative thought or a productive thought? Will you get frustrated or fascinated?
A friend of mine who plays in the Yankees organization once said that sometimes you may only have 70 percent of your game, but if you use 100 percent of that 70 percent, you can still win. The key is your response, or adjustments towards the event/situation.
We don’t have control over many of the events that occur, but we have total control over our response. As a result, we will have more favorable outcomes.
As a coach, I cannot make someone do something, I can only show them the way. When they have a breakthrough, and start getting the results they want, I couldn’t be happier.
Why? Because I know THEY did it. Many athletes believe that I did it for them, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You create your results, by your ACTIONS. Here is another way to put it…
A Chinese proverb:
Teachers open the door… You enter by yourself.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2011-07-23 23:04:542011-07-23 23:04:54MESSAGE #1459 TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
I recently received an email from a professional tennis player from Brazil. He couldn’t afford my mental toughness coaching sessions, so I gave him some free advice. Here’s what I told him.
Write down the following on an index card, keep it in your bag, and review before playing…
1. Take deep diaphragmatic breaths when you feel yourself getting negative, thinking too much, out of control, etc. This will lower your heart rate and keep you in the present moment.
2. Focus less on what you CANNOT control (line calls, results, spectators), and focus more on what you CAN control (your effort, strategy, targets, reactions).
3. Remember, full effort is full victory.
4. Thinking during practice is good; thinking during competition is bad. Just do it. Trust your preparation.
5. Act differently than how you feel; you can feel negative, tired or defeated, but you can still ACT confident and energetic.
Can you apply this to your sport, job or relationships?
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.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/default2.jpg300300adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2011-07-16 23:04:132011-07-16 23:04:13MESSAGE #1452 HANG ON
To me, sports is not about trophies. It’s not about money. It’s not about saying you’re better than somebody else. The beauty of sports is who it makes you become. It’s about character. Watch the recent Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with one of my favorite athletes, the great Andre Agassi. Enjoy.
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/0284.jpg360480adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2011-07-12 19:35:232011-07-12 19:35:23MESSAGE #1448 THE SECRET OF SPORTS
https://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/0286.jpg360480adminhttps://www.edtseng.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TsengLogo211-2.pngadmin2011-07-10 19:10:422011-07-10 19:10:42MESSAGE #1446 A SPECIAL VIDEO
