Mindset Monday 7/19/10- How to Relax Before Competition (Part 1)

Studies show that too much anxiety will kill a performance (not that you needed any studies to prove this point to you). Many coaches tell their athletes not to worry. They say to, “just relax.” Few coaches however tell their athletes exactly how to do this. The coaches are not holding anything back from their athletes, they simply may not know how to do this themselves. You can teach someone how to relax.

Step 1 is realizing that it takes no effort at all to relax. You have all natures most powerful sedatives flowing through your body at every moment. First and foremost, you must realize this.

Step 2: Breathing properly. Deep breaths in through your nose, out through your mouth. Feel your stomach expand and contract. Your chest should not move. All breathing is done in your abdomen. For every 1 second you breath in, you should breath out for 3 seconds.

Step 3 is realizing at this moment, there is nothing else in the world except your breath. You breath in, and you breath out. There is no upcoming competition, there are no other objects, there are no people, there is even no you. The only thing that exists is your breath. You breath in, you breath out, and everything else fades out of existence. (This concept is similar to Zen Buddhists- allowing oneself to regain oneness with the universe). Allow your mind to go blank. If thoughts should arise, do not react to them, do not judge them. Your mind is a reflex organ, it reacts to everything. Realize this. Realize that your mind will wander, your mind will judge, your mind will worry. Do not fight your mind. This is the equivalent of a Civil War taking place inside yourself. Allow your mind to have doubts, fears, and worries, and recognize this is a natural thing the mind does. You do not have to respond to it. You do not need to live according to your minds automatic thoughts. You have a choice. You can persist through doubts, fears, and worries.

Deep breathing increases blood flow and circulation throughout your body. You will gain physical and mental well being through taking control of your breathing. You breath consciously to regain control of your energy- your body and your mind.
Get into meditation. Read the Miracle of Mindfulness by Ticht Nacht Hahn. Learn how to Center from Aikido. Make deep breathing a part of your regular routine. Use it before you compete. I can say from personal experience that after you take deep breaths before you compete you feel like a new person. You feel energized and relaxed. Do your deep breathing about 10 minutes before you compete and do not stop until your mind is clear (not thinking about anything).

Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/

Mindset Monday 7/12/10- Redefining Failure

Failure is Feedback to Champions, failure is Final to Losers. If you want to succeed you must be willing to persist through failure along the way. You want to adopt a Mastery Mindset- you are in it for the long run; you will not be deterred by the daily ups and downs.

Champions look long-term. In fact, Winners lose more than losers lose. Think about it, they have to. They put themselves on the line more. The success creed goes like this, “ I am not judged by the number of times I failed, but by the number of times I succeed, and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep moving forward.”

Now this is not to say that the Champions like losing, in fact, I am sure they hate it even more than losers. The difference is they recognize failures as part of the PROCESS to be a Success. Here are some examples who illustrate what I am talking about:

~Few people would think that the hitter who struck out most times in baseball history would be thought of as a good player, much less a baseball hall of famer, Mr. October REGGIE JACKSON.
~Or that the batter who made the most outs ever would also have the most hits- does PETE ROSE ring a bell?
~ Surely the pitcher with the most all time losses would be sent back to the minors. He wouldn't be the pitcher with the most all time wins would he? Would they name the Most Valuable Pitcher the CY YOUNG award?
~You would think the basketball player who missed over 9,000 shots, lost almost 300 games, missed the game winning shot 26 times, and cut from freshman high school team would be MICHAEL JORDAN.
~Just google the "successes and failures of ABRAHAM LINCOLN" if you want to see real adversity and bouncing back from losses!
~Thomas Edison said he didn’t fail thousand, but rather found thousands of ways NOT to invent the light bulb.

Don’t let the Fear of Failure stop you from going after your dreams. Look at the list above when you feel like quitting.

Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/