MESSAGE #1413 A QUOTE FROM “GAME. SET. LIFE”
Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Work is the most fun of all. —author unknown
MESSAGE #1411 ROGER, OVER AND OUT!
Today, in the French Open Men’s Final, Roger Federer was leading his nemesis, Rafael Nadal 5-2 in the first set and ended up losing the set, 7-5. All he had to do was hold serve once and the set was his. Instead, Nadal won seven games in a row and gained a tremendous amount to momentum, and eventually won, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1.
This happens all the time in sports.
Recently, I began giving one-on-one mental toughness sessions to a competitive female tennis player. One of her biggest challenges is that she cannot close out a set or match. When she has a lead, she tends to ease up, lose focus, and/or celebrate victory before it actually happens.
What happened to Roger Federer today?
Only Roger knows that.
But, for the most part, there is no excuse when you lose a 5-2 lead.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Most people play better when they are losing, so…pretend that the score is 2-5.
2. Focus on your strategy (placement, effort), not your situation (so close to winning the set).
3. Play one point at a time.
4. If you feel the momentum shifting to your opponent, SLOW the game down; take your time between points to minimize the length of the rally for your opponent.
5. Go all-out and do what got you to 5-2.
Is finishing a set or match simple?
Yes.
Is it easy?
No.
You cannot control results, but you can certainly do things to help put yourself in the best possible position to win. Focus on those things and you should be pleased with the results.
MESSAGE #1410 A MESSAGE FROM A YANKEE
Recently, I was talking to Dellin Betances, the #3 Yankees prospect (above). He is currently having a great season at Double-A Trenton and I asked him what the secret was to staying focused and consistent. “You just have to keep working on the things you need to work on. Now is the time for me to do it, not when I get called up to the majors.”
It’s true, most people like to work on things they are already good at, which leaves their weaknesses, well…weaknesses. If you don’t work on them in practice, when will you work on them, in competition? Remember the quote from former US Navy SEAL, Stew Smith? “Work on your weaknesses so much that they are as close to a strength as possible.”
If you think it would be difficult to work on your weaknesses, IMAGINE how difficult it would be to compete against someone who IS, when you’re not.
Can you apply this to sales, school or music?
MESSAGE #1409 A MENTAL TOUGHNESS SECRET
In Steve Siebold’s book, 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, Secret #92 is “The World Class Catapults Their Consciousness By Overcoming Obstacles.” On the page, there is a quote by author, Thomas Carlyle…
The block of granite which was an obstacle in the path of the weak, becomes a stepping-stone in the path of the strong.
The action step Siebold recommends is: Make a list of the three biggest obstacles you currently face. Next, determine the worst thing that could possibly happen if you decided to mount an all-out assault to overcome them. If you can live with the worst-case scenario, suspend your fear and attack your obstacles as if it is impossible to fail. If you succeed, your self-confidence will soar. If you fail, you will live to fight another day.
Wow. That’s powerful stuff.
MESSAGE #1401 CHOKE
Recently, cognitive science and performance expert, Sian Beilock sent me a copy of her new book, “Choke.”
People choke all the time, in sports and life. Below are some anti-choke techniques that Beilock recommends.
1. Distract yourself—Sing a song or even thinking about your pinky toe as Jack Nicklaus was rumored to do can help prevent the prefrontal cortex from regulating too closely movement that should run outside awareness.
2. Don’t slow down—Don’t give yourself too much time to think and to control your highly practiced putt, free throw, or penalty kick. Just do it.
3. Practice under stress—Practicing under the exact conditions you will face in a do-or-die situation is exactly what is needed to perform your best when the stress is on. Get used to the pressure so competition is not something you fear. Also, by understanding when pressure happens, you can create situations that will maximize the stress in your opponents.
4. Don’t dwell—Take that past performance and change how you think about it. See your failures as a chance to learn how to perform better in the future.
5. Focus on the outcome, not the mechanics—Focusing on the goal, where the ball will land in the net, helps cue your practiced motor programs to run flawlessly.
6. Find a key word—A one-word mantra (such as smooth during a golf stroke) can keep you focused on the end result rather than the step-by-step processes of performance.
7. Focus on the positive—Don’t be helpless. If you focus on the negative this can make you feel out of control and increase the likelihood that you will not work as hard to obtain future performance goals.
8. Cure the yips by changing your grip—An alteration in your performance technique reprograms the circuits you need to execute your shot, hopefully clearing your brain and body of the motor hiccup.
Thank you, Sian.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1400 SING A SONG…
Have you ever heard someone sing a song and that song gets stuck in your head for the rest of the day?
Of course you have.
Top athletes use affirmations, and they work the same way. Instead of replaying a song in your head, replay a powerful statement, like…
“I am a strong, confident person who thrives under pressure.”
“I let the past and the future go, all I am focused on is the present moment.”
“If I give full effort, I am a champion, regardless of the result.”
Create an affirmation that will resonate with you, and get it stuck in your head.
Then you’ll REALLY be singing because you will begin getting winning results.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1399 HOW DO YOU PRACTICE #2
Recently, I had a great conversation with peak performance coach, Brian Cain. We traded books and so far, the best line I have read in his book is this…
“We want our players to play at their pace and to treat every game like practice, and every practice like a game so that nothing changes.”
I really like that.
To me, this means, take practice seriously and compete like it’s not a big deal.
MESSAGE #1398 CAN VS WILL
Recently, I was teaching a young boy and at the end of the session, I asked him, “Did you give a full effort today?”
He responded, “Not exactly.”
“Could you have?” I asked.
“I don’t think so,” he said.
Then I asked him the million dollar question…
“What if, at the beginning of the lesson, I said, ‘I’ll give you a million dollars if you give it your full effort today.’ Would you have been able to give a full effort then?”
My student enthusiastically responded, “Oh YES!”
We both laughed.
I told him that effort is a choice. It’s not a question of CAN you, it’s a question of WILL you?
Lesson learned.
Ed Tseng
Director of Mental Conditioning
Monroe Sports Center
609.558.1077
MESSAGE #1397 HOW DO YOU PRACTICE?
The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.
—Author Unknown
MESSAGE #1393 STICKK TO IT
I know you want to be successful.
I know you want to be healthy.
I know there’s many things you want to accomplish.
So how do you do it?
Someone brought www.stickk.com to my attention recently.
Let’s say you want to workout three days a week. You can set it up on www.stickk.com so that if you DO workout three days a week, a monetary amount of your choice goes to the charity of your choice (i.e., Special Olympics).
However, if you do not reach your goal, the money goes to an anti-charity of your choice (i.e., the Boston Red Sox if you are a Yankees fan).
Does this work?
Absolutely.
See, the problem with most people is that they try to do it on their own. But when you do this, it is too easy to put it off.
When there are true (positive and negative) consequences, we tend to stick with our goals.
It’s human nature.
I have had some people ask me to help them stop smoking and I simply had them write me a check for $1,000 and if they didn’t smoke, I gave the money back to them after the designated time frame.
If they DID smoke, I would go shopping.
If you make it important enough…or painful enough, you’ll get it done.
The question is not CAN YOU?…the question is WILL YOU?
It’s a choice.