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!
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
Thinking too much about how you are doing when you are doing it is disastrous.
-Harvey Penick
We all want positive outcomes in life, from sports to sales to school. And most of us strongly dislike negative outcomes, but the truth is, there are no negative outcomes. We choose whether we win or we lose. It’s our reactions, and our responses that create our results. Let me put it another way…
E + R = O
Event plus Response equals Outcome.
I recently began working with a young golfer. This golfer has all the talent in the world, but is his own worst enemy. During practice, he performs unbelievably, but under pressure, he unfolds.
Golf is challenging because there is a lot of down-time. A lot of time to think.
The tournament prior to my last session with this golfer, he played poorly. But the next day, he played great…in practice. So during my session with him, I focused on creating a pre-shot routine.
And I told him to focus only on his pre-shot routine during his next tournament.
Guess what?
He won first place.
Everyone works on the physical game, but the ones that succeed are the ones that work on their mental game.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
Recently, I was talking sports psychology with yoga guru, the great Naime Jezzeny. He mentioned that many marathon runners focus on one thing…the next step.
A marathon is 26.2 miles (approximately 55,335 steps).
If you think about running 26.2 miles, it could be quite intimidating. But if you focus on just taking one step, you will be fine. Then, do it 55,334 more times.
Let me put it another way. If you are driving at night, your car headlights can only help you see about 160 feet in front of you. Even though you are only driving 160 feet at a time, you can still drive through the night.
In sports, sales and school, set goals, but then “chunk it down,” or break the goal into smaller parts. Tackle one goal at at time and before you know it, you will attain your larger goal.
The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
-Buddha
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
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?