This is the third in a continuing series of wellness articles and it can empower our lives, athletic performance, careers and relationships.
By Terry Carter
One of the most universal rules of the human mind is that conflicting thoughts or beliefs cancel each other out, yielding no significant results.
In everyday life, the desire to ask someone for a date can inspire great action in most people. But if that person is equally fearful of meeting new people or facing rejection, then the action of asking for a date may never occur — until the desire significantly exceeds the fear.
In individual sports, this conflict can limit a great athlete’s potential for a variety of reasons: Anxiety, nervousness to perform in front of an audience; long-held, personal limitations; criticism, bullying, jokes, laziness, distractions, desire, motivation and more.
For example, an athlete of any age — even a professional athlete — often feels nervous, intimidated, embarrassed while in the competition area either pre-game or during the event. The other team may be better, even champions. The arena, the crowd may be enormous and loud. You may have tripped or made a mistake in the last few minutes.
Pro golfers are virtually always nervous when they tee off on the first hole, more when major championships and/or more money is at stake. All athletes experience this.
The good news is nervousness, anxiety, stress create feelings in your body that release adrenaline, which heightens your speed, response time, strength and endurance. Some call anxiety by another term and benefit from the definition of the new term. That word is excitement, and we expect great things when we are excited.
It comes down to not what is happening at the moment, but how you feel about what is happening. Rain can be viewed as a heaven-sent blessing or a curse. If you are a farmer in a drought, you will see the blessing. If you are a soccer or football player slipping and falling in the mud, you may see it the other way temporarily.
In team sports, conflicting thoughts, emotions and beliefs impact teams in a more pronounced way. A quality team with 80 percent proven, positive, hard-working athletes and 20 percent of starters who are not driven, but are distracted, will fail before they reach their highest goals.
This happens in every sport: Baseball, softball, volleyball, cross country, football, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, etc. Teams miss the postseason or get knocked out of the playoffs despite their talent and top ranking because they lose focus.
Physically you can win your district/regional competitors without a full lineup of physically gifted athletes. But you must have each athlete, including substitutes, equally committed to the work ethic, belief, resilience and teamwork required to achieve such a goal. One weak link, say a senior who decides they are done trying so hard with graduation so close, results in the conflicting beliefs in the team mindset, which affects every player. That lone negative/distracted influence will affect the power of the team in competition to reach its potential.
The same is true for coaches, athletes absorbed by celebrity status, famous relatives, and the normal distractions of teen life.
The mental result can be monumental unless it is addressed immediately. And that doubt and lack of focus generates more confusion, less intuition, coordination among the players and coaches, which shows up as hitting slumps, losing streaks and weaker-than-expected performances.
Is any team perfect? There are no perfect athletes, coaches or people. Perfect records are rare among state champions, yet it still happens because of a consistent belief that “we can score one more” than the opponent.
This Gold Medal Mindset and Championship Culture are not ingrained from birth or learned in a classroom. It is a transformational feeling that anything is possible, an energy absorbed from coaches who set the proper example, devote the time and encourage you to work through all obstacles.
Note: In our next article, we will focus on the 5 Fundamental Areas Of Improvement you control. Everyone will benefit from this proven advice.
Check in for more details on how careers, relationships, testing and athletic achievement can be positively impacted. Contact World Wellness Today Monday-Thursday from 9-11 a.m. or 3-4 p.m. at 281.541.4983 to set-up a free consultation. Email UDTherapy@gmail for more information.
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- Morton Ranch football players celebrate a key touchdown as a team, not an individual effort. (Photo by Terry Carter/ UDPhotos)
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- Seven Lakes soccer has been dominant in recent years, in part due to talent, coaching and focus team effort. (Photo by Terry Carter/ UDPhotos)
