Mindset & Habits
Nothing is impossible. The word itself says “I’m Possible!”
~ Audrey Hepburn
One of the biggest attributes the elite of the elite possess, are their incredible minds and their ability to stay positive and optimistic during the toughest times. To be this way you must have an incredible desire and passion to improve every single day. In this blog post we will discuss how your mindset and habits are at the foundation of this and how they will determine if you can go From Average To Elite.
Mindset
Having a positive outlook on the world, or being optimistic, is a good place to start. You have to believe that you will do well and that good things are coming your way. I truly believe that we create our own energy, positive or negative. Having a positive attitude and being an optimistic person is imperative to success. Understanding your own mindset is a great place to start.
Below are two books written by an incredible man named Tim Grover. He trained Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Three individuals who were considered the hardest working, most determined and feared competitors ever to play basketball. There are a ton of actionable items in these books that any athlete can apply to their lives immediately. Check them out!
Winning
Relentless
Not everyone is meant to be elite. There are a ton of great athletes that did not amount to anything after high school, college, university or the junior tours. If you want to be different, or stand out, be elite, the best, whatever you want to call it then you have to believe you are meant to be elite. You have to wake up and live and breathe your goals and aspirations EVERY SINGLE DAY. Multiple little actions compounded will amount to great, massive, success.
I’ve been around a lot of successful people over the years. Business owners, Lawyers, Doctors, Professional Athletes, Deans, Presidents and Vice Presidents. All of these people were confident and had a positive aura coming off of them. This is a very powerful thing if you use it the right way. Having a positive attitude seems so easy but it is very hard for some people to do. Being down and hard on yourself all the time isn’t productive or good for your development as an elite athlete. You need to face challenges and negative situations with optimism in order to continually improve and be at your best.
If you want to succeed in sport then you have to feel and act that way day in and day out. You’ll reap the benefits and have a whole new outlook on life. Use your Mindset to your advantage and make it your super power.
Habits
Creating small sustainable habits will be the foundation of staying optimistic and you must be honest with yourself. If you are lying to yourself on a daily basis then how will you become elite?
Habits dictate how we live our lives so we need to consider that when we set our expectations. Habits are at the foundation of everything that you do consciously and subconsciously. Understanding what your professional, health and performance habits are will give you a baseline of where you can improve your life with small changes.
Professional Habits
These are usually categorized as essential employability skills but they do transfer over to the field, court, ice or golf course.
Punctuality is a predictor to success. If you can’t arrive at the course, the field, or the gym, on time, then you are already starting your day behind the eight ball. Not a good thing and definitely something that the elite don’t do. If you are notoriously late then you need to look at how you organize your time and make some adjustments.
Preparation is also something that we do in the workplace and we better be doing it before we play too. Have you ever prepared for a meeting? I’m sure you have. Whether it be with a customer, colleague or even with your parents or relatives. Maybe you read the newspaper so that you could make small talk during the meeting. Maybe you prepared a presentation to give at the meeting. Both of these things don’t just happen. They need to be prepared in order for them to run smoothly and effectively. You should think about your training and preparation for your rounds the same way. Don’t just go to the gym without a plan. Don’t go to the course without a plan either.
PREPARE if you want to be successful. For more information on Preparation check out my blog post on PREPARATION – Prepare to Succeed.
Teamwork is the last thing I want to discuss in terms of professional habits. Just because golf is an individual sport doesn’t mean you don’t have a team working with you to succeed.
Learn to work with golf coaches, personal trainers, massage therapists, physiotherapists, sports psychologists and more! These people will all bring something different to the table and combining all those ingredients sets you up for the best meal of your life! All of the best players in the world work with different types of professionals regularly to assure they’re at the top of their game. You can too! Maybe not everyday but monthly, or bi-monthly depending on your resources.
Here’s a good example:
I tell all of my clients to foam roll everyday and to treat it like brushing your teeth. You still have to go to the dentist a few times a year to get a deep cleaning. Likewise you should still go see a massage therapist from time to time to really give you a good massage.
Name 3 things you’re good at and 3 things you should work on in regards to your Professional Habits.
Good At:
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Improve On:
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Health Habits
Are you serious about your health? Meaning are you health conscious? Our bodies are our vehicles in life but they are so important in sports and athletics. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and creating sustainable healthy habits are essential to becoming elite.
Drinking Enough Water is a healthy habit that will transfer over to your athletics if it is done everyday. A great way to understand if you’re properly hydrated is to look at your urine. If it is clear then you’re doing pretty well but if it is really yellow then you’re probably dehydrated. I try to drink around 3 litres, or 12 cups, of water everyday. Depending on the activity that was completed that day will influence if I or my athletes need more than that.
Caffeine can also dehydrate you so if you have any caffeinated beverages make sure to have an extra cup, or two, of water on top.
Getting Enough Sleep should be your number one priority. So many people are looking for the magic pill to make them healthy or fit. In my opinion the number one way to recover so that you can be at your best the next day is to sleep. The recommendation most people hear is 7 – 9 hours of sleep per night. I agree with that statement and ask all my athletes to shoot for 8 hours. Try and start to build a sleep routine. Here are 3 tips you can start to implement today:
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same time EVERYDAY
- No electronics 30 – 60 minutes before bed
- No caffeine or alcohol 8 – 12 hours before bed
If you want to be elite then make these three tips a priority and get some sleep.
Eating Whole Foods is also very important. I’m not a registered dietician but I have taken nutrition courses and I do understand the value of eating whole foods. I’m not a fan of diets at all. Most people diet because they want to lose weight. As soon as that goal is reached they fall back into old patterns and gain the weight back. I like to create sustainable actions / habits you can complete for the rest of your life. Plant diversity should be a priority for your fruits, vegetables and grains. Limit your amount of processed food as much as you can.
Name 3 things you’re good at and 3 things you should work on in regards to your Health Habits.
Good At:
1.
2.
3.
Improve On:
1.
2.
3.
Performance Habits
Do you warm up? Cool down? Skip rest times? These are all habits that have to be prioritized if you want to be elite and take your abilities to the next level.
Always take the time to Warm Up and prepare your body for the activity at hand. Bring your body back to normal after your workout by performing some sort of Cool Down.
I’ve found in my experiences that most people who don’t do these things on a regular basis feel that the task is too tall. This is the wrong way to think! An effective warm up can be completed in 5 – 10 minutes and a cool down is the same. I’d rather my athlete do less of the “harder” stuff and complete their warm up and cool down, than not doing anything.
Warm ups help you complete your workout at a higher level and cool downs help start the recovery process so you can come back and do it again tomorrow. That goes for sports too, not just workouts in the gym. Prepare you body for sport and recover so you can do it again tomorrow.
There really isn’t a secret sauce to performing at an elite level. Do the fundamentals really well and often, sleep 7 – 9 hours, drink lots of water and eat whole foods. Done! You’re now elite, right? Not exactly.
There’s one thing that sets apart the best from the greatest of all time or the GOAT’s of their sports. What is that?
It’s your Mindset.
Everyone doesn’t have to be like Michael Jordan and get mad at their teammates(or caddie) for not performing at the right level. However, if you want to be elite then you better have the same mindset as he did to some extent. The mindset of always wanting to improve and get better. Everyday is an opportunity to get better. Sleep is more important than partying. Healthy food is more important than fast food. Exercise is better for you than television. Use your mindset to your advantage and it will pay you back like you’ve never experienced before.
Name 3 things you’re good at and 3 things you should work on in regards to your Performance Habits.
Good At:
1.
2.
3.
Improve On:
1.
2.
3.
In conclusion, I hope you enjoyed this post and you have learned something about your own mindset and habits. It’a not always about tweaking how you workout or what equipment you use to train. Sometimes all you need to do is change some habits and your mindset to break through that plateau and go From Average to Elite.
Stop misusing your time doing the same thing in the gym expecting a different result! Let me develop a personalized plan to maximize your potential and start living the life you deserve. We will identify your limitations and turn them into your strengths! Take your athletic ability, game, body and LIFE to the next level! Don’t waste another minute. LETS GO!
Check out the ways I can help you go From Average to Elite:
Thanks for reading! Until the next one……
Mark
CSC Performance Coaching