Karl Henry: Positive Mental Attitude
Roy Keane, Katie Taylor, Sonia O'Sullivan and Bernard Dunne, are all top athletes who were at the pinnacle of their chosen sport. They have all won medals and competed at the highest levels. They also share one common characteristic: the ability to sacrifice something in order to achieve their goal. In their sporting lives you can be guaranteed that they missed out on plenty of family gatherings, nights out and get-togethers, sacrificing these for sports event or training.
They all had a common goal, to be at the top of their sport, they are born winners. What can we learn from them or are they actually just in a league of their own? Are they just over driven? The reality is that we can learn so much, apply it to your everyday life and reap the rewards that come with being a winner. The most important piece of information to learn from them is the single determination of your goal. Whether its weight loss, fitness or flexibility , the commitment to keep working towards your goal, no matter what gets in your way, to strive to do something every day that will help you get there is an invaluable lesson to take from it. Business motivational books and speakers from Brian Tracy to Bill Cullen often preach of many of the success tips that sports people use, from business to sports they are very much the same.
The first we have discussed just there, commitment to your goal.
The second is the identity of the goal itself: Clarify your goal, make it visual and make that commitment. By making it visual, i.e. a photo or magazine cutting, you will increase the probability of reaching that goal, the more you can recognize it the better!
The third is to reduce the amount of negativity that you surround yourself with. We all know positive people, who make you feel good just by being in their company. The opposite is also true; there are negative people who will leave you feeling drained, lethargic and depressed. Business coaches suggest that you remove these people from your social circle, reasoning that if you allow yourself to be surrounded by them, you will struggle to reach your goal, as they will bring you down ,trying to restrict your success, albeit subconsciously! This is certainly something that I have used with my clients to great success, I constantly tell them not to tell people that they are training or on a diet, as the more people they tell the harder it will become.
There is a saying “fly with the eagles if you want to become an eagle yourself”, by associating with successful people you will help to become successful yourself, look at Roy Keane, who Manchester United help to nurture into a winner, so much so that the fawlty towers style organisation of the FAI proved too much for him and so he left the world cup. Or boxers who fly to the states to be with the best coaches and have the best sparring partners, association with success are a huge element that can really help you
The fun lesson that we can learn is the element of reward. By focusing on your goal, working hard towards that goal and achieving your goal, the run part is to reward yourself. A reward will help you feel good for what you have achieved, be it a present big or small, it’s the same principle, you can Basque in the glory of achievement, until it is time to set your next goal, then the process starts all over again. No matter what sportsman or woman you look at, you will see everything we have discussed in their life, no matter what age, what goal or what sport you play, all of the tips will help you to achieve those goals. They will also help you in work and your family life! It’s all too easy to be surrounded by negativity, especially in this climate, but why not step back from this, identify your goals, steer clear of the negative people, and work to achieve your goal, you may just be surprised by what you achieve without all that negative energy dragging you down.