The foundation of a winners mindset ... They KNOW they will accomplish IT, whatever it is! What that means in English is they know that if they are focused, dedicated and impervious to the feedback of others, they will accomplish. As an outsider, the rational “fan” will know it is very unlikely. All top performers believe they are the best, or are the best, at least on some Sundays. Winning often requires an irrational belief in the Self. The fact is that the Self shouldnt really be able to do what no one else has done before, and that is true. It probably shouldnt be able to...but the Self that irrationally believes it is possible in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, will do all it takes to accomplish and win, even if it ultimately means losing. I am quite certain that Usain Bolt is unlikely to lose more than one more race in 2013. Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin dont have that same luxury to be that certain. On the contrary, they must know that they will win next time. And then when Gatlin or Gay goes on to lose that race, they will need to be certain they will win the next race. And after losing 10 subsequent races, they will still need to be certain they will win the next race. That is the mind set of someone who can win. You and I dont have to be the best in the world. You and I dont have to accomplish what no human has done before. You and I choose to win at what others have done before us and will do again. To be in the elite? Certainly. But we dont ultimately have to be the very best to ever live at something. Unless of course, we do... Being an elite performer and living with an elite performer is no easy task. The constant failure each day of attempting what one has never done before takes a toll. The very best fall 100 times each day, every day. They attempt-fail, attempt-fail, attempt-fail, attempt-fail, attempt-fail, attempt-fail, attempt-fail...attempt-fail...attempt-succeed. The same dedication required to win in competition is the same dedication required to win in a relationship. One of the best chess players of all time was Jack Young. Random chance put Jack and Kevin in the same elementary school classroom. Jack taught him how to play chess when they were 7 or 8 years old. Kevin never beat Jack. Not once in the thousand plus games they played. It was clear from the first time they played a game that he was Goliath and Kevin was not David. Those chess games were important to both of them for very different reasons. For Kevin, He learned early that losing can be a very fortunate experience. He was always willing to play another. And another. Later in life, that discipline of going to bat against an all star would help pave the way for a relentless attitude that would keep him in a lot of different “games” when others would have quit. The level of competition you play against is going to be a determining factor in how often you will win or lose. Kevin never had the desire to dedicate himself as Jack did to studying the game at every level of thinking. Chess is “fun” for Kevin. For him it was an obsession. It requires obsession to win at any level that is significant. Today he is retired from chess with the rare status of being a Life Master. To be the best you have to compete with the best. This is particularly true when training. Training with the very best raises your level of play.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:46:37 +0000