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WELCOME TO THE INNER GAME

Yogi was right: You have to train your mind like you train your body. What you think affects how you feel and perform. Training
your brain is as important as training your body. Mind games: Learn to use your mind or your mind will use you. Actions follow our thoughts and images. Dont look where you dont want to go. The head edge: sports phycology is the science of success. Within a group of athletes, those who receive mental training outperform those who dont almost every time. Mental skills, like physical skills, need constant practice. The pressure principle: Under pressure you can perform 15% better or worse. When you have fun, it changes all the pressure into pleasure. Pressure creates tension, and when youre tense, you want to get you task over and done with as fast as possible. The more you hurry the worse youll probably play, which leads to even heavier pressure and greater tension. Have no fear of failure. Pressure is in the brain of the beholder. Learn to view pressure as a challenge to meet rather than a threat of defeat.

3. MIND-SET FOR SUCCESS

Attitude is everything: attitude is the lens through which we view the world, it influences how we act and feel. You dont know
whats going to happen, why not act as if youre going to have a good day? Your attitude determines your altitude. If you think you can or cant, youre probably right, the choice is yours . Riding the pines: (when injured) Invest in yourself with a positive attitude and can-do thinking. Make a list of things you can do: study the opponents, cheer your teammates, etc. Have the serenity to accept the things you cant change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference. You gotta believe: belief systems are big part of confidence. ABC theory of success: Activating event. Belief about the event. Consequences, feelings and behaviors about the outcome. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Counter irrational beliefs through positive, powerful, present-tense affirmations. To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If youre not, pretend you are (M. Ali). Do you believe in yourself?

Mental toughness characteristics: Competitive, Confident, Control,

Committed, Composure, Courage, Consistency. Competition is won on the six-inch playing field between the ears. Learn to love the competition.

6 4 2 0 0 2 Stress and arousal 4

Know your numbers: You cant control your performance until you are in
control of yourself, what youre thinking, how youre feeling. Know your numbers and your early warning signs.

Responsibility psychology: while you cant always control what happens, you always can control hoy you respond to it. Its not
the situation but how you respond to it that makes the difference. Getting over yourself: I worked very hard, the only thing that could stop me was myself. You are really never playing an opponent, you are playing yourself. Self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that undermine performance (gremlins): fear, anger, anxiety, self-consciousness, perfectionism, stubbornness, lack of motivations, competiveness, distractions, persistence. Its important to look at yourself and identify your gremlins. In sports the first step to success is getting out of your own way. The next level: Build your weaknesses until they become your strengths. Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when its open. What did you learn today and how will it make you better tomorrow? Work on your weaknesses until they become your strong points.

Between the ears Servant or master Fear lives in the future Breathe and focus Be here, now Hurry, slowly Try easier Simply observe The bottom line

Performance and productivity

4. IN THE ZONE
Trust your stuff White moments Paralysis by analysis Paradoxes of performances Choice not chance Inner excellence The hero within The well-played game Game day The mirror test The big win

2. LIVING THE DREAM

Good enough to dream: Believe in the power of your dream, then A.C.T. backward. Accept your present state, understand your
strengths and weaknesses. Create your desired state, close your eyes and see yourself exactly the way you want to be, write down what this desired state would look like. Take action through goal setting, take action steps to get you there, success is a journey of one step at a time. Progress no perfection: step by step. Goal setting: S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound. Daily or short-term goals as well as long-term ones. Goals are like dreams with time lines . Turn your vision into action with goal setting. Seek progress rather than perfection. Dont shrink the work: Talent is never enough. The harder you work the harder is to surrender . We all want to win, but the ones who succeed are the ones willing to make the sacrifice that winning demands . A re you willing to make the commitment and pay the price? Fatal distractions: obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Stay focused on your goals and avoid the fatal distractions. Fate loves the fearless: Do you want to play it safe and be good or do you want to take a chance and be great? The bottom line is you cant be afraid to fail. Sometimes the greatest risk is not to take a risk. Failing to learn is learning to fail. Look at failure as feedback and change how you feel. Fear is an illusion. Failure can be a better teacher than winning. People who succeed arent afraid to fail. Look at fear as a natural part of growing and learning. Good athletes take fear of failure and turn it around, they use that energy to become more aggressive, get angry and attack it.

Permission to win: you cant outperform your self-image. Expand your comfort zone and take risks. See yourself succeeding,
feel you deserve it, dont sabotage yourself. Limits begin where vision ends. Visualize success, give yourself permission to win. The fire inside: the most successful athletes are self-motivated. Find your passion and make it happen. Be on a mission and love your life on purpose. Be motivated by your desire to achieve rather than your fear of failure. Motivation gets your moving in a direction. Does a fire burn inside you? Do you have a mission? What motivates you? The best motivation is want power, that prideful desire to achieve. The four Ds: motivation gets you going, discipline keeps you going. Desire, Dedication, Determination, Discipline.Find your singular desire, turn desire into action, decide to do whatever it takes to achieve it, and do what you have to do when you need to do it whether you want to or not (self-discipline). Once you have your dream and direction, it is desire, dedication, determination and discipline that keep you going. Are you walking your talk?