How to Bring Back That Winning Feeling
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Bring back, that winning feelin
Woah, that winning feelin
Bring back that winning feelin
Cause it’s gone,gone,gone wooooooh
– with apologies to the Righteous Brothers
As a baseball guy, I like to watch other sports for tips on baseball coaching, mental toughness, and confidence.
I watched Apollo Ono win the 500m short track speed skating gold in the last Winter Olympics.
I could see the electricity rocket through his system after he crossed the line. Fists clenched, arm muscles fired, and a primal yell erupting from just above that ridiculous patch of hair on his chin.
We can only imagine what that winning feelin’ is like.
But you know, that’s not so bad.
Our imagination is extremely powerful.
I’ll bet if I said I’d give you a million bucks if you could right now generate the emotion he felt at that moment you could get pretty close.
How would you do it?
You’d stand up, jump up and down a few times, clench your fists, fire all the muscles in your arms and legs, and let loose a primal yell.
At the same time you’d visualize your winning the million dollars, or cashing in huge on some stock deal, or getting a date with Paris Hilton (or whatever would really set you off).
Keep doing these things — I mean for real doing them, no holds barred — for one minute and you’d be pretty close, don’t you agree? You’d certainly be pumped up, you’d certainly be excited.
Would you like to feel that way? Then do what I prescribed above.
The Three Umpires
Three umpires stand talking at home plate, waiting for the home team to take the field. The topic is calling balls and strikes.
I may be a new umpire, the first one says, but it just isn’t that hard. I call them as they are.
The second umpire smiles and shakes his head knowingly, for as a more experienced umpire he knows that isn’t really the case. I used to think I called them as they were, but now I know better. I call them as I see them.
The third umpire, the most experienced and wisest of the three, smiles and shakes his head knowingly. I used to think I called them as there are, and then I realized I simply called them the way I saw them. But now I know they ain’t nothin’ until I call them.
This story exemplifies the progress of a player and his mental game and mental toughness.
The first umpire thinks he is dealing in facts — that the thoughts in his head are the Truth.
Players make judgment calls about themselves all the time: I can’t pitch, I’m no good, I’m in a slump and think those calls are facts. They then play consistent with their thoughts.
These players are powerless victims to the random events both on the field and in their heads.
The second umpire realizes he makes judgments about what he saw, that he doesn’t deal in facts. Players at this stage realize that their perspectives and attitudes have a big influence on how they play and are open to looking for the power they see in mentally tougher players.
The third umpire knows he has the power to choose his perspective and that his choice is what determines reality for him.
A player at this stage realizes that not only does his attitude affect his performance, but that he can choose his attitude. This player will play consistently at or near his best regardless of circumstances because he sees himself as the source of his performance.
He’s not a victim of his circumstances, but takes responsibility for his own mental game every day.
Doing some baseball coaching? I don’t know about you, but that’s the guy I want on my team.
What stage are you at?
How to Create Team Chemistry: Why the White Sox Won the World Series (when they did!)
The White Sox won the World Series because they deserved it.
How did they do it? How does a team break through and do something they’ve never done? We saw many of the same elements in last year’s Red Sox and I’ll point to a few things I think we all can learn from.
First, you have to have enough talent. Next, they had the intangible element athletes talk about all the time – chemistry. We kept hearing the players talk about how they were all pulling on the same rope. While it is hard to put your finger on what chemistry is, we do know a couple of tangible things about it.
First is a clear goal. Goal here refers to the number one aspiration as a “team”, and not as an “individual”. Many players would think of themselves, worrying about their stats, keeping their jobs, looking good, and other psychological needs to feed themselves rather than think of winning as a team. Championship teams aren’t supposed to be like that. Goals are set for the win – which is accomplished by teammates with unity while playing.
Another key element is Role Clarity. Players are clear on what their role is.
Next is Role Acceptance. Each player accepts his or her role. They don’t have to be happy about, but they do need to accept it and focus their energies on successfully executing the requirements of that role.
The final element I’ll mention is belief. The White Sox and any other team that wins believes they can and will win. No individual or team can outperform the image they have of themselves. The “We can do this” energy is very positive and very focused on the goal. Doubt defuses the energy a team puts out and interferes with peak performance.