Posts

MESSAGE #1486 CONTROLLABLES

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Today’s message is especially dedicated to the great Oliver Winterbone, video coordinator for the University of Florida Gators Men’s Basketball team.

Right about now, high school and college coaches are gearing up for their fall season. Tomorrow, at Princeton Day School, we have a coaches cookout and the Athletic Director asked me to say a few words to all the coaches. Below is an exercise I will recommend they use with their team.

1. With your team, make a list of things you cannot control in sports (referees, opponents, court/field conditions, weather, etc).

2. Then make a list of things you can control (your effort, your focus, your attitude, your reactions, your strategy, your adjustments, etc).

3. Throw out the list of uncontrollables and focus on the controllables.

Not a coach? You can still use this exercise in sales, school and relationships.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1485 VISUALIZATION

/0 Comments/in , /by

Visualization is the biggest key, seeing the shot before you hit it and merely letting yourself do it.
—Scott Simpson, golfer

MESSAGE #1484 HOPE

/0 Comments/in , , , , /by

When competing in sports, and life, trust all the hard work you’ve put in…and remember this quote:

When you come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on, or you’ll be taught to fly.
-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

MESSAGE #1483 LIMITS

/0 Comments/in /by


The only limits we have in this world are the ones we put on ourselves.

During my TEDxPrincetonLibrary talk, I mentioned the greatest joke—the one we tell ourselves.

I can’t do this, or I can’t do that.

That’s limiting.

At Billy Donovan’s Coaching Clinic (above), I had all of the NCAA and NBA coaches stand up and promise to do their best. They agreed. I then told them to reach their right arms in the air as high as they could and hold it. After that, I told them to do the impossible…reach a quarter inch higher.

They all did.

They promised to do their best, but each and every one of them did better than their “best.”

What does this mean?

There’s no such thing as trying your best.

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1482 NERVES

/0 Comments/in /by

Here I am in my hotel room after a great day at Billy Donovan’s Coaching Clinic at the University of Florida. It was a great day.

I was slated to speak to 60+ college and NBA basketball coaches tonight.

I was nervous.

But I didn’t ACT nervous.

How did I do?

By the number of books/workbooks/audio CDs I sold and the fact that coaches were coming up to me afterwards asking me how they could bring me to their teams, I would say it went well.

How does this affect you as an athlete, coach, student or parent?

Accept your thoughts and feelings and take action anyway.

Don’t worry about the results, focus on the process instead.

Time for bed and goodbyes in the morning and flying out back to the Northeast.

Thanks for reading.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1480 MENTAL VS PHYSICAL

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

If you ran five miles, lifted weights, and practiced your sport for three hours today, would you REALLY wake up tomorrow morning a better athlete?

Not really.

Here’s what WILL help you become a better athlete almost instantly…

Have the same attitude as a great athlete.

Give the same effort as a great athlete.

Begin right now.

Come visit me at the USTA TennisFest at Veteran’s Park in Hamilton, NJ today at noon for my talk on mental toughness.

Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077

MESSAGE #1476 A MESSAGE FROM EINSTEIN

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

I am sitting here in my office, just a few miles from downtown Princeton, where Albert Einstein used to call home. I often drive by his house and think about his philosophy and work. Here is my Einstein quote of the day:

I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.

Do you want to be comfortable, or do you want to be great?

Be comfortable being uncomfortable.

MESSAGE #1474 THE LOVE BOAT

/0 Comments/in /by

I once took an improv class with Jill Whelan, aka, Vicki Stubing from the Love Boat television series. It was a blast, and so much sports psychology in it. Here are some quotes from class…

“Don’t be afraid to fail.”

“Don’t doubt yourself, stay in the moment.”

“You create energy. What you give you get (teamwork).”

Can you relate the above quotes to your sport, academics or job?

Absolutely!

MESSAGE #1473 5 P’S

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Recently, I asked the gold glove, all-star, world champion, Yankee great, Bernie Williams what the secret to performing under pressure was. His response? Preparation.

Here’s my take on it…

Remember the 5 P’s

1. Prior
2. Preparation
3. Prevents
4. Poor
5. Performance