Why do some people consistently kick the ball with pinpoint accuracy,
break their targets at work or achieve ambitious goals? What does
it take to be a champion? Talent, certainly. But talent isn't
enough to be a world-beater.
In sport, as in other areas of life, personal characteristics
and mental qualities make the difference between repeated success
and failure, between taking a champion's title and finishing in
the last four. There is one factor that lies behind everything
and that is the MIND!
Mental strength is an important part of any sporting game. Ron
Dennis, the boss of the McLaren racing team sums up our view of
the importance of mental strength perfectly.
'Life is a mind game. Every relationship you have is a mind
game. Where does anger, tranquillity, happiness come from? They
all come from your mind. In the end everything feeds into your
mind, and everything starts from your mind. If you decide to
be a muscular person your mind takes the decision to do the
work to be a specific athlete. If you want to be a successful
athlete or a businessman, it all starts and finishes with the
mind. Life is a mind game.'
Assuming Ron Dennis is right, then using any technique
we can, to improve our mental strength, can only be a great benefit.
FACT:
90% of your results happen from the shoulders up
Great mental strength does not just happen by chance. Its a result
of sustained mental preparation during training. As you know,
success comes by setting challenging goals and aiming high.
To achieve this, requires many dimensions. One of the key components
for an elite athlete is self-belief. That self-belief comes from
repetitive training routines, meticulous preparation, attention
to detail and mental rehearsal.
What we have noticed, is that the mental component of sporting
performance is seldom given the same level of attention as other
aspects such as physical skills. But it is often the individuals
who seem to have the strongest mental conditioning that succeed.
Some
questions to consider:
What cutting edge technologies have
you in place to train at the HIGHEST level mentally?
