Consistancy what every player strives forJune 03, 2010
The Challenge of Consistency
Today's Mental Skills Tip - What do you want people to say about you? That you have the best genes or the most potential? No. That you're the world's luckiest person? No. That you are reliable? Absolutely. That you are consistent? What a compliment! Everyone has good days and bad days, but tough competitors have fewer bad days than everyone else, and even on those rough days they remain competitive. They find a way to give themselves or
their teams a chance to win.
What does it take to be consistent?
Effective self-talk
A proper perspective
Control of emotions
Physiological self-control
Work ethic
Effective communication
Who is naturally in the elite at all of these critical skills?
Naturally, probably no one. It's more like human nature to do what's instinctive or comfortable.
Who can learn to be elite at these critical skills?
Probably anyone.
Who won't learn these skills?
Excuse makers.
Lazy people.
People without high goals.
People who worry too much about how they look and not enough on doing what's right.
People who allow their emotions to dictate their thoughts and actions, rather than converting those emotions into action signals that help identify the best course of thoughts and actions to follow.
What does it take to learn these skills?
Motivation - Formal goal setting can aid your consistency in this mental skill.
Awareness of current habits. Always pay attention so you can figure out what's working and repeat it, and figure out what's not working and change it.
Courage to change what's not working, despite the discomfort involved in admitting mistakes.
Discipline to honestly give your best effort one step at a time, often scheduling pain now to enhance pleasure later.
Patience - It will take time and persistence to reach major goals.
Faith - If the course you're taking is headed in the right direction, keep going even when adversity tries to knock you down.
Momentum: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. That first one is the hardest of them all.
If you'd like to read more about all of these mental skills, please allow me to recommend my book:
COACHING POINT
- Consistent coaches are gems. They communicate consistent messages, whether talking aloud or not. They reflect appreciation and hopefullness at all times. When their athlete's emotions are all over the map, they are reliable like a rock to lean on. Their outlook is never swayed by any single outcome, nor do they deny responsibility for any single outcome. They balance the needs of others with their own needs, trying to do their best with not pressing, aggressiveness with
control, confidence with humility, patience and faith with a sense of urgency, and their competitiveness with the reality that it's not about comparisons to others. Consistent coaches are gems, indeed
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