If You Are Not Already, You Should Be

By the title I mean “signed up to receive the Mental Management newsletter. Just go to their blog (http://mentalmanagement.com) and there is a link to sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of the page. It’s free. This site is run by the Bassham family, to which I have referred to often as a source of the best information on the mental game.

Here’s a taste of what the newsletter has to offer.

“What is the Secret to Winning?”

One of the most popular questions I get is: “What is the Secret to Winning?” The answer is simple, “Don’t try to win!” Doesn’t that sound simple? It might sound simple but it isn’t easy to do. How do you not try? When you’re competitive and you want to prove how good you are, it’s hard not to give it all you have.

In the United States we have a society that believes that if you want something you have to make it happen. Again, that sounds logical but it doesn’t work. The harder you try the worse you do. When we perform well, it is easy and effortless. In practice this happens all the time. This is because in practice we don’t experience the same pressure we do in competition. So what is the secret to Letting it happen and not Making it happen? Is it to care less? Try less? Relax? I wish is were that easy.

The best way to improve your odds to win is to have the following: first, you must have a Self-Image that it’s like you to win. Simply put, if you don’t believe you can win, you can’t! The top 5% have the Self-Image that “it’s like me to win.” Confidence is a requirement if you want to win on a regular basis. Without confidence you leave doubt to creep in and take away your chances of winning.

Second, you have to have a strong mental system. You can’t expect to have technical consistency if your mentally inconsistent. The body follows the mind. Have a strong mental process and you improve the chances that the body will comply. This is one reason why our system is so successful.

Finally, you have to trust in your ability. Without trust you will never win on a regular basis. Lack of trust equals to lack of belief. The most common athlete we work with is one who has the skill but lacks the Self-Image or the consistent thought process that promotes good performance. The way to build trust is two fold, first have the skill set strong enough to win and secondly have a defined thought process that promotes consistency. If you lack either one, it will be hard for you to win. Remember this: “If you can define it, you can duplicate it, if you can duplicate it you can master it, if you master it you can trust it, and with trust comes consistency.

The best in the world are consistent!

by Brian Bassham