As the mind-body-soul connection has been foundational to my daily living, it should come as little surprise that I highly value the mind and mental strategy in achieving success.
The strategies and concepts I’m about to explain are borrowed heavily from my mental performance coach Brian Cain, who is the world’s foremost authority on mental performance mastery.
Brian has worked with some of the most successful sports figures and has mentored me throughout my career.
Here are five mental strategies which have helped me to excel both in and outside the cage.
Championing An Elite Mindset
The pursuit of excellence often begins in the mind. It coordinates our actions; it informs our beliefs and it shapes our attitudes in life.
There are many factors that contribute to having an elite mindset which Brain hails as the 10 pillars of mental performance mastery.
To expound on all ten would be beyond the ambit of this article, but the core essence of an elite mindset is understanding your goals, being disciplined and committing to it with excellence.
Once you are inwardly focused on your own goals, your mind will mold your beliefs and attitudes which are then reflected in your actions to help guide you towards what you want.
Do not allow negative externalities or distractions stray you from the path you chose. Stay focused and put in the work!
Value The Process Not Outcome
In college, I wanted to learn the piano. So, I took a couple of electives as a non-music major, bought a keyboard and thought ‘Oh this is going to be great!’
I quickly realized I didn’t really have the desire to learn, I just had the desire to play.
Understanding why you want to do something before you go about the plan of execution is key to success.
Learn to value the grind and see the effort of your consistency as a reward in itself.
Set Goals
Be it long-term or short-term, goal setting is at the heart of every successful individual.
Once you have established your goals, then you can go about charting your own path to reach that finish line.
By breaking them down into small, actionable steps, it primes your mind and body to focus on hitting those individual milestones.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but no journey is complete without a destination.
Have A Game Plan
Humans are creatures of habits. For me to achieve success, it was all about installing good habits into my lifestyle that would support my goals.
Routines help you to develop skills and over time refine them so you get progressively better.
This helps to reinforce the thoughts about how you plan to achieve success. It’s a positive cycle of thought-action that will translate into long term success.
Be Willing To Sacrifice
There are trade offs when it comes to success.
You need to have the ability to pass up moments of instant gratification for your end goals.
Temptations abound when you are living large as a professional athlete. Staying up late or going out for the night with friends when you should clearly be getting your sleep for the day is only going to set you back.
It is important to recognize that in order to achieve your goals, you have to be willing to give up certain things.