Posts
MESSAGE #1565 GREETINGS FROM TEXAS!
Well, here I am in Austin, Texas visiting my sister Grace and her family.
On the plane I watched Tin Cup starring Kevin Costner on my iPad. It was great. In fact, it was one of the best sports movies I’ve seen in a long time.
If you don’t know, Tin Cup is about a driving range golf pro (Costner) who has all the talent in the world but a weak mental game.
At one point in the movie, Costner gets the “shanks” which is an inexplicable glitch in a golfer’s swing. He can’t hit the ball straight. He tries all these high-tech gadgets and they are not working.
Finally, Romeo, his caddy tells him to do the following:
1. Take all the change from his right front pocket and put it in his left front pocket.
2. Wear his cap backwards.
3. Double-knot his left shoe.
4. Put a tee behind his ear.
He looked ridiculous and was obviously embarrassed. Well guess what? It worked! He hit the ball straight.
Why?
Because he wasn’t thinking about his swing, he was just hitting the ball. Romeo said his brain was getting in the way.
When you think too much in sports (and life), you get paralysis by analysis. Peak performance occurs when you play loose. Loose, but focused.
Yogi Berra says you can’t think and hit at the same time. A full mind is an empty bat.
Well, it’s off to explore Texas. Talk to you soon!
MESSAGE #1561 A MESSAGE FROM MICHAEL JORDAN
I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot…When you think about the consequences, you always think of a negative result.
-Michael Jordan
When I give seminars on the psychological aspect of peak performance, I always ask someone in the audience to name their favorite athlete. Many times it is Michael Jordan. I then ask the following questions…
“Who is faster, you or Jordan?”
“Who can shoot better, you or Jordan?”
“Who can jump higher, you or Jordan?”
The answer is always Jordan (if they are being honest).
I then ask how long it would take for them to be physically equal to Jordan.
Most say forever.
I follow up and say, “Do you know how you can become just as good as Jordan, almost instantly?”
I have the entire auditorium’s attention as I say…
“By having the same mindset as Jordan. And by giving the same effort as Jordan.”
I recently asked the winningest coach in college history, Paul Assaiante, squash coach at Trinity College, if giving a full effort was one of the main goals for his team. He responded…
“It’s the ONLY goal.”
Comments? Leave them below.
MESSAGE #1549 PEAK PERFORMANCE IN JUGGLING
In this vlog, Ed interviews professional juggler, Jen Slaw. For more on Jen, visit: http://www.jenniferslaw.com/
MESSAGE #1548 FEAR QUOTE
Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.
-Brendan Francis
MESSAGE #1546 WHO’S IN CONTROL, YOU OR YOUR DAY?
The other day, I overheard someone saying, “I wish I had more time in my day.”
Well, today, I’m going to show you how to do just that. It’s called time management, or being efficient. Instead of “seeing what today brings,” after today, you will be able to CREATE your day and get more done in the process. Not only will being efficient buy you more time in your day, you will be better at your job, your school work, your sport…everything. Ready? Here we go…
Ed’s Efficiency Exercise
1. Create a to-do list: Write down three to five things you want to accomplish today.
2. Prioritize your list: Rank your tasks in order of importance (A = most important, B = very important, C = Not very important).
3. Just do it: Begin with your most important task. Focus all your energy on it, and do it until completion, or until you choose to stop.
4. Repeat: Continue doing “A” tasks, then move to “B” and finally to “C.”
5. Break it up: Don’t forget to take breaks throughout your day so the quality of your work/practice/study time is not compromised.
6. Make it a game: At the end of the day, see how many tasks you checked off. Your goal should be to have all of them checked off. This is also a great way to build confidence. Don’t be afraid to reward yourself.
7. Remember: Spend more time on your important tasks and less time on unimportant ones. In other words…Make the important thing the important thing…that’s the important thing.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1543 I HAD A NIGHTMARE
Last night I had a nightmare. I dreamt that I was at an event and my iPad, camera and laptop were missing. I was getting pretty stressed since they are not cheap items. I woke up and was relieved when I realized it was just a dream, but I wondered why I had such a stressful dream.
I now know why.
Last night, before going to bed, I was looking for a used book I recently purchased. But I couldn’t find it. I checked everywhere it could be including my car. No luck. I was disappointed and it obviously affected my sleep.
Now I know what you are thinking, what does this blog entry have to do with me?
A lot.
Research has shown that what you think about in the 30 minutes before bed gets replayed in your mind over a dozen times while you are sleeping.
Do you watch the news with crimes and world tragedies? Do you watch scary movies? Do you think about all the work you have to do when you get to work in the morning?
What I normally do before bed is read some inspirational books and/or meditate.
Oprah said, “Your focus is your future.”
Focus on positive things and you positive results.
Focus on negative things and you get negative results.
PS Happy Birthday to one of my she-roes, the great Rayna Dubose. Checkout my video with her here.
MESSAGE #1541 NEVER GIVE UP
At a certain point, if he’s going to get to the top of the boxing profession, a fighter has to learn the difference between the truth and a lie. The lie is thinking that submission is an acceptable option. The truth is that if you give up, afterward you’ll realize that any of those punches that you thought you couldn’t deal with, or those rough moments you didn’t think you could make it through, were just moments. Enduring them is not nearly as tough but having to deal with the next day and the next month and the next year, knowing that you quit, that you failed, that you submitted. It’s a trainer’s job to make a fighter understand about difference, that the parts of a fight that are urgent last only seconds; seconds during which you have to stave off the convenient excuse- “I’m too tired” or “I hurt too much” or “I can’t do this” or even simply “I’m not going to deal with this.” Sometimes it just comes down to not floating- just being there and understanding that if you give in, you’ll hurt more tomorrow. Maybe there is no more important lesson to learn from boxing than that.
From: Atlas: From the streets to the ring: A son’s Struggle to become a man.
MESSAGE #1538 10 POWERFUL WORDS AND 10 WORDS TO AVOID
I have observed and spoken to thousands of athletes from all over the world. I know powerful words that help athletes and I know weak words that will hurt athletes.
The 10 Most Powerful Words
If it is to be, it is up to me.
The 10 Most Devastating Words
What will other people say…what will other people think?
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1536 AROUND ME
I love what I do.
As I look around my office, I see books like these…
Body Mind Mastery
Sports Slump Busting
Heads-Up Baseball
The Golfer’s Mind
The Fighter’s Mind
Mind Gym
Mindset
Secrets of Mind Power
Clutch
Awakening the Giant Within
Hypnotism
The Inner Game of Tennis
Success
The Tao of Bruce Lee
This is just a small sampling of my library.
Why did I share this with you? Because I wanted to show you that I’m totally INTO peak performance and the mental game. I can’t get enough of it.
How INTO it are you with your sport, job, academics or relationships?
Many people say that you should be well-rounded.
I feel differently.
I say that you should be sharp-edged.
Be REALLY, REALLY good at one thing.