Elite performance requires hard work. There’s no way around that.
The pressures of competing are demanding mentally, physically, and emotionally.
When you train the skills of self control and discipline you’ll notice that you’re better able to focus and face the inevitable obstacles that will come your way – like a bad game or the nerves that come before a big game, negative comments, negative expectations of others, or when you just get off the rails of a training or nutrition program. You’re going to be able to calmly evaluate the different challenging scenarios and make the next best decisions about how to move forward.
You need to know how to make objective decisions under pressure rather than being controlled by emotions. Embrace the process, both good and bad and see it as an opportunity to grow.
The skills of self control and discipline can unlock your true potential. So, let’s talk about how to develop those skills.
Strategy #1 – Make your Bed
Make your bed the same way everyday and do it well.
Why?
What could making your bed have to do with performance on the field?
It’s practice.
There are three behaviors champions need to perform consistently to the next level.
Attention to detail, acting differently than how you feel, and follow through on your commitments long after that motivation has passed.
Making your bed is practice for all those things. It’s daily practice.
Daily practice is how you build mental muscles.
Strategy #2 – Start, Stop, Continue
Reflection is an important part of development. How am I doing? How can I do better? These are good questions to ask.
When thinking about this, you’ll realize that there are things that you are doing well and things that can go better.
So, what behaviors do you have to start?
What behaviors do you have to stop?
What behaviors do you have to continue?
Most importantly, how?
How will you start, stop and continue those behaviors?
Be specific when answering those questions.
Winners live in the land of specificity.
Game plans are specific. Make a specific game plan about the behaviors you will start, stop and continue and then follow through on performing those behaviors.
Strategy #3 – Flush it
When bad things happen you have to be able to move on.
But, before you move on, you have to be able to flush it.
You cannot carry around all the negative feelings and thoughts that come from negative events. You have to flush them.
How?
Flushing requires 3 steps.
- Have a physical action you associate with flushing it. You’re always doing physical things. Quarterback touch the towel they have with them. Baseball players are constantly adjusting their batting gloves. Make an association with those things. Tell yourself that when you do those things, you’re flushing it.
- Take a deep breath. Whatever just happened, breathe it out of your system. After you take that deep breath, blow out of your body that last negative thing.
- Say something that brings you back to the present moment. Let’s go. Or, good. Or, moving on. Whatever you want to say is fine. But, that verbal trigger will bring you back to the present moment. The present moment is where you need to be to perform well.
Don’t live in LA LA LAND. Not everything is positive all the time.
Negative things will happen. Obstacles will show up.
So, you have to know that when negativity and obstacles come your way that you know how to deal with them.
We don’t rise to our expectations, we fall to our training.
So, you have to keep climbing that ladder of training so that when things don’t go well and you do fall, you’re falling into the level you’ve trained for.
Discipline = Freedom
Freedom to do well.
If you’re looking for that freedom, I have the keys for you. They are my 10 pillars to mental performance mastery.
If you want more strategies and drills for developing self control and discipline and the other pillars for mental performance mastery, then join my email list. I’ll send you exactly what you need to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
