Here is a BLOG that I wrote several years go... several... that is worth repeating. These touchstones are foundational building blocks for everyday living and competing at your very best level. You can now pre-order the Competitive Buddha at Amazon and Barnes and Noble
All successful athletes and people in all walks of life seem to have certain innate core virtues or traits that define their path of success. Remember this: there is no path to success; success is that path. Here are the top seven that I find weave a pattern connecting such extraordinary people:
1) BELIEF---your lack of belief in yourself is your opponents greatest advantage. When you have self-doubt and lack confidence, it is usually due to your focus on outcomes and results, items that are beyond your control. Such focus on outcomes makes you tight, tense and tentative and as a result, your confidence diminishes. Focus instead on what you can control, those little things that you do over and over and believe in doing that. When you do, confidence rises as you become relaxed and calm, assured that you can demonstrate those behaviors. Remember this: from little streams come big rivers.
2) INFLUENCE--- Know that your influence is NEVER neutral. Your body language, tone, posture, eye contact, words chosen and attitude can either light up a room or cast it into eternal darkness. The more aware I become of the power of my influence, the more "say" I have in the outcome on or off the court.
3) COMPASSION--- the ancient TAO says we lose and in this way we win. Errors, mistakes, setbacks and failure are our best teachers and mentors. The arrow that hits the bulls eye is surely the result of 100 misses. Embrace loss as a necessary link to success. I have failed many, many times yet I am more fortunate because of that. My best seller in over 10 languages was rejected for publication a dozen times or more. Understand this natural path and have compassion for yourself and others, particularly those whom you have perhaps defeated.
4) COURAGE--- the word courage comes from the French word "coeur" meaning heart. You must have the courage to take risks and learn from your setbacks when they occur. The author, Ray Bradbury once said that when you are afraid to fail, when you are standing at the ledge of a cliff, you must jump and build your wings on the way down...then you'll fly. Remember the first time as a kid when you jumped off the diving board into the pool although you were petrified prior to jumping. You landed safely and let out a scream because you had such a successful flight into the water.
5) THOUGHTS--- your thoughts will strengthen you or weaken you. Every thought has its own energy. If a thought is contrary to the direction you wish to go, the thoughts will win. We all have two wolves inside us at the same time, fighting with each other everyday. You may wonder...which wolf wins? The answer: the one you feed. Using positive thoughts will set you on a path that is healthy, strong, forward moving and successful.
6) INTEGRITY--- this is about narrowing the gap between what you say and what you do. The less the gap, the more the integrity. Integrity relates to trust and respect, the two key components of meaningful relationships, so necessary for life of congruence and authenticity. This means that you do what you say you will do even when no one is looking.
7) GRATEFULNESS--- all achieving, extraordinary athletes that I have met demonstrate the quality of Gratefulness. In fact, I say: FROM GR8FUL 2 GR8. I ask that you list the top 7 things in your life that you are grateful for. When you get the feeling of gratefulness, breathe in into your heart( eyes closed) three times and hold it there. Then, go about your day making it a reflection of all that you have been given... live your day giving back to your team, friends, family, work, performance because of your own good fortune.
Being aware of these 7 items each day will change your life in significantly good ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment