Welcome back to the MIND GYM (PFB). 
This month’s topic will focus on the two most basic concepts in the area of Mental Toughness.  Each workout will focus on keys to the enhancement of your performance. 
Although these concepts maybe easy to understand, it is very difficult to incorporate them into your mental program or mind set (How you think).


Workout 1: 
PREPARATION is the key to developing confidence and becoming successful.  For example, if you were going to take a test. One, you may want to study the necessary informational materials that will be on the test.  And two, you may also want to ask someone who was successful in achieving a good score on the test for some additional insight into the test.  With all this appropriate information, you will feel very confident and ready to take the test.  And more than likely, you will receive a very good score. 
 

Workout 2: 
CONTROLLABILITY is very important to living an amazing life.  Knowing what you can control and doing your best to control it is the key.  So the only two things in life that you have 100% control of are your THOUGHTS and FEELINGS. THAT’S IT!  You do not have total control over anything else.  So please do not waste your time and energy on trying to control other things in your life.  Of course this concept is easier said than done.  In fact, the Zen monks do their best to master this concept 24/7 for their entire life.      
 

Since Confidence and Self Doubt are feelings, it is your choice to decide which way you want to feel.  Thinking about positive thoughts versus negative thoughts is also your
choice.  This is really important since the average human being has over 3,000 thought per day. It has also been documented that most of those thoughts are negative.  And since our thoughts are a direct influence on how we feel… WOW! It’s your choice.   And
PLEASE, do not let society influence your choice.  Especially since the majority of the population focuses on the negatives.  Just look at what is being reported on the news.


Finally, understanding that no one is perfect and mistakes do happen is very important in the development of Mental Toughness. It's the striving for perfection that makes us better each and every day. So let's make everyday count! The next few blogs will be discussing Positive Focus' 6 P's to playing like a champion.


If you have any question and/or comments on any of the topics in this blog, I encourage your feedback.   Have a Positive Focus Day! 
“Dr. D” a.k.a. “Vitamin D”

Welcome to the Positive Focus Blog (PFB).  PFB is dedicated and committed to helping anyone who may be interested in developing Mental Toughness Skills.
According to coaches from the old school of sports, mental toughness skills cannot be taught. These coaches feel that “IT” just comes from within us.  Maybe in the earlier days of sports when there were no athletic trainers, no strength and conditioning coaches and very little water breaks, just blood and sweat were  the only factors in developing a true champion. 

Well, it’s the 21stcentury and today’s athletes are faster, stronger and smarter than most of their sports heroes of the past.  They also have better equipment
to help them maximize their physical abilities in their particular sport.  And
with the advancement of technology, today’s athlete has much more information to help them prepare for their opponents and competition. 

That being said let me help you develop the strongest muscle in your body.  The one that controls all the other muscles.  Let’s go to the Mind Gym.  

But before we get started, let's focus on how you can benefit from this Mental Toughness Blog.  Listed below are the Top 10 Performance Myths according to Bill Cole.  If you can learn to avoid these ten peak performance myths you will immediately see your performances soar. Here are the myths and ten tips to help you become a better peak
performer:

1. MYTH -- An All-Out Performance and Total Effort Is Required.
Some folks think that if 100% effort is good, then 110% effort must be far better. Peak performers know that there is an optimal level of effort for every activity in a given performance.

Mental Tip -- Through practice, find your optimal levels of effort and avoid trying too hard. Be efficient by targeting just the perfect level of effort and motivation in
your performances.

2. MYTH -- You Can Make a Top Performance Happen on Command.
In watching a top athlete or musician perform, does it look like they can force a good performance to occur, even if they are having an off day?  Sometimes a bad day can be saved by extra focus, preparation or mental strategies, but rarely does forcing a performance work.

Mental Tip  -- Allow your best performances to emerge from superior preparation, from focusing rituals built into your performances and from trusting yourself to do
what you know how to do.

3. MYTH -- Only Many Years of Training Will  Lead to Peak Performances.
Anyone can achieve a peak performance following the laws of performance psychology. But the more experience you have, the easier it is to bring forth your best efforts.

Mental Tip -- Have faith in yourself, while still preparing solidly, and you will be able to muster your best under pressure.

4. MYTH -- A Peak Performance Is Just a State of Hypnosis.
A specific, non-ordinary mental state is achieved when you are performing. Call it self-hypnosis if you want, but there is nothing mysterious about it.

Mental Tip -- Get into the zone for your best performances. You are in the zone when you have a calm mental state, pure focus, relaxation, your mind is in the here and now and you are allowing things to happen. That is like the hypnotic state.

5. MYTH -- Peak Performances Can Only be Achieved by People With Special Mental Powers.
Anyone can turn in a peak performance, and anyone can develop the mental powers needed to do so consistently. You can learn what you need to know to perform your best.

 Mental Tip -- Study top performers in your field and see what makes them tick. Ask them what it was they did to develop those powers.

6. MYTH -- A Peak Performance in Sport is Different Than One in Business.
Once you achieve a peak performance in anything, you have experienced the zone. The zone is a state of mind and body that ignites your ability to perform to your potential. You can use your zone skills in any performance arena.

 Mental Tip -- Learn from every discipline you can, to transfer those performance skills across all performance venues.

7. MYTH -- Once In The Zone, You Can Sustain a Peak Performance by Sheer Will Power.
It seems like good performing is all about having strong will power, but it's not. That
can be part of it, when you have solid mental discipline, but that's not all of it.

Mental Tip -- Use your will power for self-discipline in your
training and for controlling your mind in a performance. Then learn to let go
once in the performance so you can attract the powers of the zone, and allow
them to take over.

8. MYTH -- A Peak Performance Can Happen Only to Top Performers.
It is true that top performers are able to bring forth peak performances more often than the rest of us. But if you cultivate the skills of trust, naturalness and calmness, you can bring forth your best, even if your skills are not highly tuned.

Mental Tip -- Develop your ability to envision yourself succeeding and then to trust that vision.

9. MYTH --  You Are Either Born a Peak Performer or You Are Not.
It seems like some people were born to perform, but if you ask them, or learn their background, you will find that what they make look so easy is a result of years of dedicated practice and discipline.

Mental Tip -- Pay your dues and you will make the difficult look simple.

10. MYTH -- Peak Performers Know Exactly How They Do It.
I was always amazed in tennis, when I competed against world-class athletes, how little they knew about the zone, and, oddly, how little they wanted to know about it. Their theme was, "I can do it just fine--don't fill me with information that can rock the boat".

Mental  Tip -- Those that can do, don't necessarily know how they do. Learn all you
can about the zone so you can create the conditions of excellence the zone demands.

If you would like to view Myths 11 - 20, let me know and I can send you that information.

Your questions or comments on this topic is more than welcomed.

 Have a Positive Focus Day!