Athlete, listen up...I know you are wondering, "Am I one of the 10% of athletes who is ACTUALLY playing up to my true potential? At my age and my level, should I be further along? Why aren't I as fast/strong/athletic/skilled as that guy or that girl?"
If you want to be a confident, successful student-athlete, I am going to let you in on a little secret...you need to BECOME the right person for the job BEFORE you reach your full potential.
Your athletic skills alone are USELESS unless they are built on a foundation of:
- A Strong Mindset
- A Winners Mentality.
So, what ARE the common traits among the great, confident, successful athletes?
#1 If you want to be a confident and successful student-athlete, you must learn how to THINK DIFFERENTLY.
Your thoughts become your feelings, your feelings become your actions, and your actions create your success on and off the field.
Thinking differently means you are always aiming to be positive and optimistic.
MOST high school athletes gravitate towards negative thinking...they are always looking at what ISN’T going well, what they AREN’T good at, what they DON’T have.
I call it "stinkin’ thinkin’". It is EASY to fall into this trap as MOST high school student-athletes are not super optimistic, positive people. However, I guarantee you it WILL keep you from becoming the best YOU can be.
So you are asking yourself, "What can I do to develop a stronger mindset, a winners mentality, and how do I become more positive and optimistic?
Delete the BAD input and replace it with GOOD input
Hang out with more positive, optimistic friends. Don't be afraid to ditch your negative, pessimistic friends who bring you down. Unfollow ALL negative people on social media and follow positive people, like me :-)
Follow athletes who have integrity, whose CHARACTER you admire, not just the flashy, popular, high level athletes. Follow people who post inspiring, motivating stuff. If you seek those people, you will find them.
Stop watching so much Netflix, please!
No more drama filled television shows. I don't know a lot of high school students who watch news but if you do, stop. Just about all news is negative, so do your mindset a favor and don't watch it. The same is true for Youtube videos with negative messages, listening to trash music.
PLEASE TRUST ME ON THIS ONE. Anything negative that goes INTO your brain will eventually become negative OUTPUT, starting with your feelings and then eventually your actions.
Start with listening to 1 youtube video a day. I recommend searching for videos that include words like, “how to have a more positive attitude”, “how to be more optimistic”, “how to be a successful student-athlete”.
You will be amazed at your OUTPUT (how much confidence and success you have) once you change your INPUT.
Please share this with a friend and stay tuned for PART 2!
Dedicated to your success,
Coach Andrew
