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MESSAGE #1282 ARE YOU ON AUTOPILOT?

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Many athletes and coaches focus on doing something until it’s automatic. Sometimes this is good, but sometimes this is bad.

I recently read about a study at McDonald’s restaurants. Researchers had many people in different locations go to a McDonald’s restaurant and ask for only an order of french fries. Not a very interesting study so far, but…

63 percent of the McDonald’s employees responded, “Do you want fries with that?”

Do you want fries with your fries?

The employees were conditioned to ask that question, even though it made no sense.

Sometimes automatic is bad.

What if you only practice under perfect conditions? What if you only practice against the same people?

You won’t be able to perform outside of your “vacuum.”

Be mindful when you practice.

When I train tennis players, I purposely hit them different types of shots, different types of spin and different types of speed. I even hit different types of tennis balls once in a while, that bounce differently, just to keep the players honest.

Training should be purposeful, not just so you “look good.”

Think about it.

MESSAGE #1281 AN EXERCISE

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Do you remember a time when you performed REALLY well?

Perhaps you were playing tennis and you could not miss, or you were working and had unbelievable focus, or you were performing a violin recital and nailed it.

Here’s your assignment:

Go back in time to when you were performing at your peak. Write down:

1. Where you were
2. What you were feeling
3. What you were thinking
4. Smells
5. Sounds
6. What your body language was

After doing this exercise, you now have a model of success. Go to this model when things aren’t going so well. Read it and re-create it.

Better yet, create a voice memo on your phone and listen to it whenever you are in a slump.

Slumps are part of life, you can’t control that.

The only thing you can control is HOW YOU REACT TO THEM.

Leave your comments below.

MESSAGE #1280 WHAT I LIKE TO WATCH

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Obviously I like sports.

I like playing sports and I like watching sports.

But I’m not one of those guys that has Sports Center on at my house 24/7.

There is, however, something that I can’t watch enough of…

Upsets in sports.

The Davids beating the Goliaths.

I love watching the little guys beat the big guys.

Why?

Because it shows that anything can happen.

It’s not the better player or team that wins, it’s the player or team that plays better that wins.

Yesterday at the Australian Open, fourth-seed, Robin Soderling of Sweden lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

On paper, Soderling should have won, but he didn’t.

Upsets are part of sports (and life) but many people are defeated before the competition even begins. They think, “Oh, he will probably win.” or “There is no way that team will lose.”

There is a way and it is possible.

So the next time you are the underdog and you come up against a tough opponent, a tough customer, or a tough situation, remember that anything can happen.

And go all-out!

MESSAGE #1279 WHAT DIRECTION ARE YOU HEADED?

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“The distance one goes is not as important as the direction.”
-author unknown

How hard you work does not matter if you are doing the wrong things.

How are you practicing?

How are you studying?

How are you working?

There is a big difference between movement and progress.

If you know where you want to go, just keep doing the things that will help you get there.

Buddha said:

“If we are heading in the right direction, all we must do is keep walking.”

MESSAGE #1277 MENTAL BLOCKS

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We all get mental blocks. And we all need to overcome these blocks.

Imagine driving across the country from New York to California…with your emergency break on.

Many athletes go through their entire careers like that.

The problem is most people want to win, but they don’t want to get out of their comfort zone.

For all you athletes, amateur and professional, here’s my tip:

The best way to win more is to forget about winning.

During practice you need to THINK.

During competition you need to DO.

Play your game and trust your game.

MESSAGE #1275 HOW TO PERFORM UNDER PRESSURE

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Recently, a tennis coach asked me for some advice. He said there was a student of his who wanted to win, but was afraid to play tournaments. She was uncomfortable under the pressure. In practice, she was great.

I told him that in order to be more comfortable being uncomfortable, she needed to put herself out there. She needed to play more tournaments. You can run from fear (it will chase you), or you can face fear (it will lose power). And I told the coach that Pete Sampras love it more when the pressure was on, so it is not the pressure, but your perception of the pressure that makes or breaks you.

When I spoke to gold medalist, Lindsey Vonn at the US Open last year, she told me that the reason why she was able to perform so well under pressure was because she put herself in those situations over an over again.

You may not be able to ski like Vonn, or serve like Sampras, but you can have the same attitude towards pressure as them.

MESSAGE #1274 J-E-T-S

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If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?
-JOE NAMATH

For the past few days, I’ve been seeing a lot of green and white due to the big upset the Jets pulled on the New England Patriots. The Jets clearly played to win (versus playing to not lose).

Why would you compete if you are only going to give it half an effort? You might as well not even compete.

But if you are going to play the game, play full-out, on the field, in the classroom and in the boardroom.

When you have this mindset, you’re playing a game you can’t lose.

MESSAGE #1273 HOW TO WIN MORE

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Today’s message is especially dedicated to Quinn Martin and his high school basketball team in Washington State.

What happens when you are in a slump?

If you are like most athletes, your body language is poor, you begin thinking too much and you get down on yourself.

Most people begin thinking about the past (we haven’t won a game in weeks), or the future (what if we lose again tonight?). But the great performers focus on the present moment (your effort, energy level and adjustments).

Last night the Jets beat the Patriots when they should not have. On paper, the Patriots were the better team.

But the Jets played better.

The better team never wins, the team that plays better always wins.

So when you are in a slump, act like you are on a streak.

Go all-out and focus on the things you can control (your effort) and don’t worry about the things you cannot control (winning/losing). I think you will be pleased with the results.

MESSAGE #1270 BE LIKE WALTER

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I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field.
-WALTER PAYTON, football player

Can you have the same attitude as Walter Payton in what you do?

Sports, sales or school?

Of course you can.

But the real question is, WILL YOU?

MESSAGE #1269 HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR

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My friend, Dr. Rob Gilbert is a sport psychologist who once asked the great boxing trainer, Teddy Atlas how he taught boxers how to overcome fear. Atlas said that boxing is like war. There are two types of soldiers: heros and the cowards. The difference between them is not fear itself, but how each deal with the fear.

The hero feels the fear and moves towards it.

The coward feels the fear and moves away from it.

The key is doing what you need to do, when you need to do it, whether you feel like it or not.

The more you move towards your fear, the more comfortable you will be with it.

Fear has no control over you, unless you let it.