The power to choose your thoughts is the greatest power you have.

 

 

 

Inner Excellence Thoughts

 

Learning from the Elite

Being an athlete means playing two games:  a physical one and a mental one.  The physical one is the one we all know, your on-field performance and all the practices and conditioning that went into it.  The mental game however, is the one that controls the physical game; it precedes the physical game, then becomes the physical game.  The problem is that athletes know how to train physically, but they don’t know how to train the part of the game that determines how they perform when pressure is at its peak, when the game is on the line, or their career is at stake.

 

This book is your guide to answering that question:  how can you train the entire you so that you perform at or near your peak time and time again, especially when you need it most.

 

Being an athlete means facing adversity.  Anyone who has played a sport for long has experienced the mind games that accompany sports.  Self-doubt, frustration, and disappointment are all obstacles everyone must overcome to achieve success.

 

Dealing with failure, managing pressure, learning to focus with a calm intensity, and being able to enjoy the game when the game’s on the line—these are the trademarks of champions in any sport. 

 

Champions think a certain way, train a certain way, and play a certain way.  They have clear values and a unique perspective on their sport and life.  They have a presence--a focused energy that comes from who they are, on and off the field.  The beauty is, this presence can be developed and learned.

 

(Note:  I use the word champion in the sense of an elite athlete that truly reaches his or her potential on and off the field; one who is continually seeking excellence in their life, as opposed to an athlete who simply wins the most games in their division or is voted to the all-star team.)

 

Champions have many intangible attributes that can be acquired with dedication and desire, such as:

 

·         They have a clear vision of themselves in the future.

·         They have clear values and live according to those values.

·         They see themselves as champions, and act that way no matter what the present circumstances.

·         They take personal responsibility in everything they do.

·         They keep a consistent mindset over the long haul.

·         They are able to maintain a moment-to-moment focus.

·         Their body language displays a confidence, an expectancy, on and off the field.

·         They are more focused on the process of excellence than the outcome.

·         They enjoy the sport in the most pressure-filled moments.

·         They are comfortable being uncomfortable.

·         They take risks, and are not afraid of failure.  In fact they welcome it as a guide and teacher.

·         They have solid routines; habitual actions they do every day that contribute to continuous growth and improvement.

·         They have developed emotional control because they constantly prepare themselves for the feelings they will have under pressure.

·         They embrace their fears, making it their ally, not their enemy.

·         They are inner-focused, knowing their inner world controls their outer world.

·         They know how to quiet their mind, when all around them is chaos.

·         They have an extra gear that kicks in under pressure.

·         They have a presence about them – a warrior-like spirit.

 

I.                   Playing from the Heart

One of the keys to peak performance is having an unburdened heart and a clear mind.  Having the freedom to play the sport you love with abandon, joy, and passion, not worrying about what happened in the past or what might happen in the future-- just loving it.  It’s playing wiffle ball in the backyard or football at recess:  pure enjoyment, staying in the moment, fully engaged.  Easy to do when you’re a kid, in fact it comes naturally.  But in time complications arise, training gets more intense, games are farther away, more things have to get sacrificed, and it becomes like a business.  The heart gets lost, and goals, statistics, contracts, and…. pressure, take its place. 

 

In order to get back the freedom to play the sport with passion, joy, and love, you need to play from the heart.  Understand that your performance is a statement of who you are.  How you play is a reflection of what you value.  And if you have a deep purpose for your life that transcends sports, and clear values you live by, then you’ll have a foundation that enables you to play with the freedom that comes from being truly authentic.  Your performance will then be an expression of your strengths, not a reaction to your fears. 

 

Elite athletes who know who they are, why they live, and also, where their support is, develop that freedom.  They are enabled to boldly confront their fears and dreams, playing and living at one level, excellence, a level coming from the heart.

 

Key words/topics for this section:

Freedom.  Clear values.  Vision.  Support.  Authentic to your design. Love.  Passion.  Joy.  Peak experiences.  Truly alive.  Mental toughness.  Covenant.  Integrity.  Relaxation.  Spirit. 

 

II.                Know what you’re up against

If only it were so easy!  We live in a culture that conspires against us to live true to our values, boldly aligned with our purpose.  From the moment we are born, we are surrounded by a media-driven, negative culture that envelops us, cajoles us, influences us, and in the end, usually dominates us.  We’re dominated by a culture that places the most importance on the least important, one obsessed with winning, results, and heroes, and not a mastery of self, and a bigger vision. 

 

As a result we lose awareness (and ourselves), resorting to a lower consciousness, getting caught up in society’s expectations, pressures, and negativity.  We get too caught up in our emotions, getting distracted easily from our focused intensity in the moment.  Society’s media-driven intensity to win wreaks havoc with our ability to focus on the process of winning.  Instead, fear, doubt, and anxiety creep in and take away our joy and passion for the game. 

 

But that’s only the beginning.  Not only do our brains get filled with our culture’s negative and useless thoughts day after day, taking us away from our values and focus, but we are taught since childhood to analyze everything.  We get what I call the monkey mind, scattered and filled with negativity.

 

Over-analysis is one of the biggest paralyzers of top athletes.  We may have a goal to win a gold medal or turn professional in our sport, but the process of working towards that gets mired amongst society’s expectations and opposing values (excellence vs. outcome/winning).

 

Finally, we have a second mind that tricks us (the Great Trickster) and lies to us.  It constantly reminds us of our failures, our losses, the pressures, the reasons why we can’t succeed, all that.  Like a little devil on your shoulder, it whispers in your ear reminders of all your failures, especially those that were emotional and similar to the one you’re now facing. 

 

The Great Trickster greatly contributes to our anxieties, fears, and doubts because we lose focus of who we are, why we live, and we believe what he says.  As such, we get overwhelmed.

 

Key words/topics:

Not having clear values, clear vision, and clear support.  Lack of perspective.  Judgmental mind.  Over analysis.  Caring too much (obsessed vs. possessed).  Society’s pressures.  Instant gratification.  Outcome orientation.  Focus on winning.  Monkey mind.  Audience.  Expectations of others.  Fear. Anxiety.  Doubt.  Slumps.  Training environment vs. game environment.

 

III.             Transform your mind

When the universe was created there were certain laws and rules that were enacted so that the earth would continue to spin, stars would stay in the sky, and our vanilla latte’s would go tastily down our throats when we tip our cups.  

 

Being a part of the universe, we also have laws that affect each one of us, whether we are aware of them or not.  Not only laws like gravity and the speed of sound, but other laws that impact our lives every day.

 

One of those laws that has huge implications for athletes is that thoughts are energy.  Every single one of the thousands of thoughts you have every day is energy.  Great athletes and people that attract abundance in their lives understand this and take great care of these powerful units of energy that we create and replay in our minds all day long.

 

Another law, or truth, is that our subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what is vividly imagined and reality.  And that our subconscious mind is in a continuous state of working to create our reality from what we believe to be true.  Notice that I didn’t say what is true, but what we believe to be true.

 

Our subconscious mind not only doesn’t know what is real and what is impossible, it doesn’t care.  It only tries to manifest what we believe to be real.  If we truly believe we are a champion athlete, it will draw the circumstances and people into our lives to try to make that happen.  Like a robot, it will charge forward in the direction of our beliefs.

 

The first step in the program is to understand the power of your thoughts (which turn into beliefs), and then become aware of those thoughts.  Awareness is a crucial start to develop the higher level of consciousness that the elite performers have.

 

The elite live on a higher plane than the rest of us.  They have an elevated consciousness that at its root is derived from a heightened awareness of the thoughts and images in their heads.  This consciousness becomes the presence that attracts the zone of peak performance.   

 

Elite athletes set goals in their minds as seeds of reality, planting those seeds, and nurturing them like a dutiful gardener.  As a gardener they pull the “weeds” of negativity (negative thoughts that always come to elite performers) and constantly nurture the seeds of their dreams.

 

They use centuries old techniques of visualization, affirmations, acknowledgment, and self-talk to elevate their consciousness and propel them toward their dreams, on and off the field.

 

They are constantly seeking self awareness, self growth, and self transcendence, which then provides a platform for the zone of peak performance, or “flow”.   They have productive thoughts and, because of their heightened awareness, are able to connect seemingly unrelated thoughts and events, and develop new ideas that take them forward towards their goals.

 

They understand that there is a natural order to the universe, with physical, spiritual, and mental laws that when in tune with, abundance flows naturally.

Flowing with nature’s laws and mastering themselves develops a presence that allows them to get into an ideal performance state repeatedly.

 

They embrace their fears, and are thankful for the energy, wisdom, and experience it gives them.  Champions get in flow often, and are constantly learning, loving, growing – seeking excellence.  The presence they’ve developed attracts excellence, transforms their outcomes and most importantly, their lives.

 

Key words/topics:

First step:  develop non-judgmental awareness.  Visualization.  Clear negatives.  Self-talk.  Affirmations.  Thoughts are energy.  Beliefs.  Subconscious.  Great Trickster.  Laws of the mind.

 

IV.             Focus on the process: Attract the zone

Forgetting the win/loss orientation of our society, champions live in the mode of seeking excellence, which is a mastery of self (your thoughts, images, words, and actions) and mastery of life (synergizing with the natural order of the universe). 

 

Champions know that they will always be their own biggest opponent.  They are constantly striving to be fully present in each circumstance, with no yearning to be elsewhere, no longing for the past or future, but embracing the present.

 

Theirs is a spiritual path first and foremost, which is an inner journey constantly seeking out ways to align their thoughts, words, images, and actions with their deepest values.  It’s facing their fears, which is a spiritual thing because it attacks who you are.  The goal is to make the most of the present; to develop a presence.  The destination is now. 

 

They have an understanding that there is greatness in each unique circumstance, that life is a package deal, the good and the bad, and they embrace it all.  They know that being a top athlete is much more than the three hours on the practice field and two hours in the gym each day.  They know that every moment is a learning moment; a time to add to their skills of staying in the now, of developing their level of focus.

 

They even use everyday activities such as cleaning the house or folding the laundry to learn to be in the moment, not rushing to get it done so something worthwhile could be started, but accepting that for that moment, folding the laundry was the most important thing in the world—a time to develop concentration skills.

 

They are comfortable with failure and seek it as a teacher to guide them, learning grace with life’s challenges.  They have an inner feeling that all things work together for their good, regardless of initial appearances.

 

They act as if they already are the athlete they want to become.  They walk and talk, think, act and train like that person—then they become that person. 

 

Key words/topics:

Path to mastery.  Focus on the moment.  Master the commonplace.  The zone. 

Ideal Performance State.  Embrace all of life (the good, bad, exciting and the

dull).  Act as if.  Seek excellence.  Develop solid routines.  Keep a journal. 

 

V.                Compete for the biggest prize

For champions, competition brings out their best.  They are very goal-oriented as far as their goals are to be the best they can be, to continue growing, learning (about life and about themselves), and loving, and to win the greatest battle they’ll ever have:  the one with themselves.

 

The other team is not the enemy or even an adversary, rather on the contrary:  they are a necessary and important component of playing the game they love, and becoming who they can become.  When the opponents play with a ferocious intensity, it elevates the champion’s game and they welcome it.  This is because they need that intensity to play their best.  This intensity from the competition enables them to kick in a higher gear in response to the pressure, that without, they would have difficulty accessing.

 

They are focused on getting to that higher personal level, not attached to results.  They play intensely hard, but not for outward achievement, not even to beat the opponent, but to touch the depths of their soul, to resonate with their deep purpose.  The focus is on themselves.  They compete to fully live, to be the person they were born to be, to get lost in the game they love, with the results more of a byproduct than a destination.  Champions have a saying, “They’re here to beat us, we’re here to be us.’

 

This deeper purpose, to fully live, to get the most out of themselves, not only lines them up much more congruently with who they are, forging an authentic warrior, but it also enables them to achieve far more on the field than they would otherwise.  This is where peak experiences are born.

 

Key words/topics:

Compete.  Deep purpose.  Fully alive.  Resonate.  Be fully you.  Greatest battle. 

 

VI.             Seek full engagement

Champions are on a mission of personal development to create peak experiences in their life, on and off the field; peak experiences where one is totally focused with a heightened awareness, completely in the moment, fully engaged, and filled with passion and a positive, powerful energy.

 

They have a spiritual foundation, which are clear values, a vision for their life beyond themselves, and they live according to those values and vision.

 

This life of being truly authentic creates a solid foundation that works backwards from the world.  Most athletes look at their circumstances (and past results) and work hard to improve them, reacting to each event by first labeling it as good or bad. 

 

The champion creates his circumstances by working from who they are, and using their mental and emotional selves to continually draw up in their minds the results they want, and reinforce it by their beliefs and how they live.

 

Champions know that to come through in pressure situations and to consistently play the best they can each day, no matter what the circumstance, they need to be fully engaged in all four cylinders of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical excellence. 

 

To be your best you must learn to truly live, which comes from a passionate devotion to daily excellence, living in line with your purpose and fully engaged.  When you are fully engaged, you won’t oscillate like those cold and timid souls who go back and forth between anxiety and boredom as they seek material gain and outward recognition. 

 

The ironic thing is, those fully engaged as described above receive more of both without it being their main goal.  They’ve become bold, courageous, and confident.  They have a presence about them.  They have a goal to get the most out of their lives, well beyond winning a gold medal or other recognition.  It’s seeing what’s possible in their lives, looking for new horizons, deeper levels of engagement, peace, fulfillment, and joy that motivates them.