I love acronyms. When I spoke at TEDxPrincetonLibrary, I talked about HOPE (Hold On Possibilities Exist). Well next week is HOPE week for the New York Yankees. For them, HOPE stands for (Helping Others Persevere and Excel). Watch the video below on HOPE Week 2010. After watching this video, you will never complain again about anything in your life. Enjoy.
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?
I submit yes.
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.
Without confidence, a golfer is little more than a hacker.
-Bobby Jones
Feel free to substitute the word “golfer” for “tennis player,” “salesperson,” or “musician.”
Of all the rings and all of the money and all of the color and display—they linger only in memory. The spirit, the will to win, and excel, these are the things that endure. The quality of any man’s life is the full measure of his commitment to excellence and to victory, regardless of what field he might be in.
—Vince Lombardi
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.
Happy Birthday 76th birthday to the Dalai Lama.
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
—Dalai Lama
I really like this quote.
Can you apply this to sports? Of course you can.
You can substitute “success,” “peak performance,” “mental toughness,” “personal finance,” and “academic success” with “happiness” and still make this quote true.
It is not our intentions that create our results.
It is not our thoughts that create our results.
It is our ACTIONS that create our results.
Positive actions equal positive results.
Negative actions equal negative results.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
Today’s message is especially dedicated to my grandmother, Fung Shee Pan, who turned 105 years young yesterday. Happy Birthday!
My grandmother is Buddhist and I think that is part of her secret to longevity.
Today, you will learn her secret.
Some say much of sports psychology came from Eastern philosophy. Recently, I was reading a great book by former professional baseball player, Shawn Green, “The Way of Baseball.” In the book, Green talks about how meditation and Zen helped him become one of the best hitters in his era.
Green mentioned the following Zen saying:
“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; after enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”
It’s not about what you do, it’s all about how you do it.
Are you fully engaged when you are working, practicing, studying, eating, etc?
Most are not.
Staying present is key to peak performance, satisfaction and improvement. Unfortunately, in today’s world of televisions, iPods, iPads, XBox and iPhones, it is easy to get distracted.
Whether you want to become like Shawn Green or my 105 year old grandmother, practicing meditation can help you perform better, live fully and live longer.
Try my meditation from yesterday’s message to get you on the path (click HERE).
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077