🎾 The Champion's Mind How Great Athletes Think, Train, And Thrive¶
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The Champion's Mind How Great Athletes Think, Train, And Thrive — tài liệu 221 trang từ thư viện sách tennis.
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Tóm tắt nội dung (trích từ tài liệu gốc): WORLD-CLASS ENDORSEMENTS "The Champion's Mind reveals the mental skills and strategies Olympic champions use to perform their best when it matters most. Dr. Afremow's matchless book is a must for athletes and coaches." --SHANNON MILLER, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics and president of Shannon Miller Lifestyle "I read this book with my eyes wide open, and the content continued to keep them open at all times. Jim's advice and tips are very simple and easy to understand. Read only one chapter at a time and apply it to your approach to tennis, sports, and life." --NICK BOLLETTIERI, founder and
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WORLD-CLASS ENDORSEMENTS
"The Champion's Mind reveals the mental skills and strategies Olympic
champions use to perform their best when it matters most. Dr. Afremow's
matchless book is a must for athletes and coaches."
--SHANNON MILLER, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics and president of Shannon Miller
Lifestyle "I read this book with my eyes wide open, and the content continued to keep them open
at all times. Jim's advice and tips are very simple and easy to understand. Read only one chapter
at a time and apply it to your approach to tennis, sports, and life."
--NICK BOLLETTIERI, founder and president of Nick Bollettieri IMG Tennis Academy
"How sweet it is to breathe that rarefied air of a high-performance athlete! How
refreshing it is, as well, to recognize so many of the techniques in Dr.
Afremow's book that get you to that privileged place. The Champion's Mind is a
simple, straightforward elixir for the high achiever in all of us."
--MORTEN ANDERSEN, NFL's all-time leading scorer and a member of the NFL's All-Decade
Teams for the 1980s and 1990s "The Champion's Mind is loaded with great lessons, advice, and
perspectives on how to be successful. It is definitely not a requirement to be an athlete or a coach
in order to benefit from this book. The skills and strategies that Jim provides here are essential in
carving a path to success, no matter what field you are in or what your goals are. I can honestly
say that I have lived by many of the strategies offered in this book, and I can also say I wish I had
lived by more of them. But it's never too late to be as good as you can be!"
--DAN JANSEN, Olympic gold medalist in speed skating and former world record holder
"The mind is a powerful thing. As a baseball player, the more confidence I have
and the more mentally prepared I am, the better I perform when it matters the
most. The Champion's Mind will help guide you to reach your potential both on
and off the field!"
--TRAVIS BUCK, MLB outfielder, San Diego Padres
"Athletes who want to learn the secrets of the mental game should read The
Champion's Mind."
--CARLI LLOYD, two-time Olympic gold medalist and 2008 U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the
Year "One can always learn from others. The Champion's Mind holds a wealth of insight as to
how you can become a winner in your everyday life."
--PHIL MAHRE, Olympic gold medalist in alpine skiing
"It's amazing to see how Dr. Afremow points out what athletes go through every
day. He describes a lot of situations that I have experienced as well. In this book,
you can find a lot of simple but very useful tips and principles that might help
you improve your performance."
--BRITTA HEIDEMANN, three-time Olympian in �p�e fencing and gold medalist at the 2008
Beijing Olympics "The Champion's Mind is very informative and full of great principles and
guidelines for any athlete who is searching for excellence in their performance."
--MIKE CANDREA, Olympic gold medal coach of the U.S. softball team and eight-time national
champion coach of the University of Arizona women's softball team "Athletes can unlock a new
level of performance by learning the power of training their mind as they train their body. From
preparation to rehabilitation to competition, The Champion's Mind gives the mental guidance
necessary to allow an athlete to reach their full athletic potential. Dr. Afremow's playbook for
increasing mental strength gives clear direction to make the reader a better athlete, a better
teammate, and a better person."
--CURT TOMASEVICZ, Olympic gold medalist in four-man bobsled
"We all have an athlete in us; we were all born to run, jump, swim, and compete
in some way or another. The gold medal at an Olympic Games has been declared
as the highest honor to reward discipline, commitment, power, strength, finesse,
passion, precision, patience, speed, and skill, just to name a few. You too can go
for gold in all areas of your life by following Jim's strategies. Decide what you
want and go after it with all you have to give, every single day. Daily acts of
excellence are the secret. Choose your success today."
--NATALIE COOK, five-time Olympian in beach volleyball and gold medalist at the 2000 Sydney
Olympics "Do you want to learn how the best in the world got there? In The Champion's Mind, Jim
distills a myriad of golden Olympic stories into clear tools we all can use. I am positive that you will
read insights in this book that will help you rise to the top of your discipline. If you read this book,
you will be inspired. Thank you, Jim, for writing this book!"
--ADAM KREEK, two-time Olympian in men's eight rowing and gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing
Olympics "When I read The Champion's Mind, it quite frankly reminded me of many instances,
mannerisms, and thoughts leading to my Olympic championship, and it has given me many other
wisdoms to pass on to the athletes I now coach. Choose your path, follow your path; any path
worth choosing will have its ups and downs, but The Champion's Mind will help you with ideas to
keep moving forward on that path. The focus you gain will help you reach the top of whatever you
seek."
--NICK HYSONG, Olympic gold medalist in the pole vault
"Dr. Afremow hits a grand slam with The Champion's Mind. Every athlete
should keep a copy of this book in their locker or gym bag."
--LEAH O'BRIEN-AMICO, three-time Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. softball team
"Dr. Afremow's training and tips have been an important part of the preparation
and success of our athletes when they take the Wonderlic test at the NFL
combine. In The Champion's Mind, Dr. Afremow provides simple yet
powerfully effective strategies to help athletes and coaches reach their full
potential."
--MARK VERSTEGEN, founder and president of Athletes' Performance and Core Performance
To my wife, Anne, and our daughter, Maria Paz
You were born to be a player.
You were meant to be here.
This moment is yours.
--HERB BROOKS,
coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" team
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION:
IF YOU CAN SPOT GREATNESS, YOU'VE GOT GREATNESS
CHAPTER ONE:
BE YOUR OWN CHAMPION
CHAPTER TWO:
MASTER THE MENTAL SKILLS
CHAPTER THREE:
BE IN IT TO WIN IT
CHAPTER FOUR:
THE WISDOM OF A CHAMPION
CHAPTER FIVE:
EXERCISE, NUTRITION, PAIN, INJURIES, AND REGENERATION
CHAPTER SIX:
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR PERSONAL DESTINY
CHAPTER SEVEN:
ZEN IN THE ZONE
CHAPTER EIGHT:
GOLDEN REFLECTIONS
CHAPTER NINE:
YOUR WORLD-CLASS GAME PLAN
CHAPTER TEN:
LONGTERM SURVIVAL OF THE MOST MENTALLY FIT
EPILOGUE:
THE ULTIMATE VICTORY IS YOURS
APPENDIX A: BE A CHAMPION STUDENT-ATHLETE
APPENDIX B: BE A CHAMPION SLEEPER
REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READING
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
FOREWORD
BY JIM CRAIG
Most people remember me as the goalie from the 1980 Olympic "Miracle on
Ice" hockey team. Since then, I have gone on to have a successful sales career of
more than 30 years and have become a sought-after motivational speaker and
sales trainer. I travel the country delivering my messages on winning teamwork
and how to achieve success in business.
Jim got in touch with me after reading my book, Gold Medal Strategies:
Business Lessons from America's Miracle Team. It combines my years of sales
experience and training with the discipline skills I used during the Olympics and
my NHL career. As I am a gold medalist and experienced sales trainer, Jim
wanted my thoughts on his book.
I was enthusiastic about taking a look at Jim's book because I have long
recognized the importance that the mind plays in getting to the top of the
podium. The Champion's Mind is thoughtful, accessible, and engaging. The
chapters are clear and straightforward, and they easily allow the athlete to put
Jim's suggestions into action right away.
Jim provides expert advice and proven mental techniques for building a step-
by-step improvement plan to accomplish your goals. He does a great job of
teaching. He tells you how you too can become a champion in all aspects of your
game and perform optimally at the most important time. His suggestions are
clear and very readable and easy to remember.
My wife and I have a teenage son and daughter, and they both play sports. To
help them increase their enjoyment of athletics and improve their performance, I
often share with them my favorite quotes and tips that I have collected on sports
and living life. I keep a jar at home filled with these quotes and tips written on
pieces of paper and encourage my kids to pull out and practice a lesson every
day.
Whether you are an athlete, a parent, or a coach, think of this book you now
hold in your hands as your own personal peak-performance jar because The
Champion's Mind is filled to the brim with golden lessons you will draw on
again and again to maximize your athletic potential. So keep this book handy--
in your gym bag or locker--and reach for it any time you need inspiration or you
want a great opportunity to practice your mental skills. Building your mental
game can be as simple as reading a few pages of The Champion's Mind before
practice or when you are riding on the team bus thinking about the next
performance.
Start transforming your game from good to gold medal today. You'll be glad
you did.
INTRODUCTION: IF YOU CAN SPOT
GREATNESS, YOU'VE GOT GREATNESS
Don't envy the champion--be the champion.
T he challenging plan presented in this book details how you can reach your
pinnacle of athletic excellence and become a champion in your sport or
fitness activity, whether you are a high school, college, recreational,
professional, or an Olympic athlete. It means you will be vitally engaged in all
areas of your game and life by doing your best at what you value most. You will
get the job done and rise to the occasion in your championship moments.
Think about the active people in your life, those you respect and hold in high
regard. What specific character traits do you value most in these friends,
teammates, and coaches? Who in your life has a high IQ in mental toughness?
Also consider your personal athletic heroes, now and throughout history--the
Olympians, professional athletes, adventurers, and extreme sports participants.
Who specifically do you respect the most and what is their strongest attribute
that you admire the most--their confidence, concentration, composure,
commitment, or some other attribute?
The same positive mental qualities you admire in others are also within you
and waiting to be fully expressed. Perhaps you watched when Tony Womack hit
an RBI double off of Yankees' pitcher Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth
inning of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series and you thought, "I would love to be
that clutch." Maybe you've watched Tiger Woods at the Masters striding down
the fairways with total poise as the Sunday leader and you raved, "I wish I could
have that level of comfort and confidence on the links."
If you can spot greatness in someone else, then you already have some of that
greatness within you, because only a person with similar traits can recognize
those traits in others. Think, "If I can spot it, I've got it!"
Admiration and envy are our common psychological responses when
watching extremely successful people perform at extremely difficult times.
However, our responses can also make others seem superior, but they're not.
Still, most of us too quickly dismiss the idea that we could be like or even
surpass the heroes we admire and respect the most.
Instead, we must realize that all people are more alike than different, so we're
all capable of the mental greatness we see and appreciate in others. Rather than
merely trying to mimic these qualities, why not seek your fullest expression of
your positive aspects and attributes and become like the champions you admire?
Living this attitude and striving for your own personal best are how you
champion yourself, which is the kind of excellence outlined in this book. The
main objective for you is to maximize your athletic potential by developing a
champion's mind-set. To paraphrase one of Yogi Berra's insightful gems: Sports
are 90 percent mental, and the other half is physical. If you want to play like the
best athletes, then you have to think like them. Achieving this goal requires a
program of psychological preparation and interconnected mental skills, mental
strategies, and golden wisdom.
The chapters in this book are organized in short, succinct sections for today's
busy athletes, coaches, and parents. Each chapter offers important steps for
winning the mental game, so you will start thinking and acting the right way,
right away. These tips are no-nonsense, to-the-point techniques for all ages and
all goals. These winning attitudes and behaviors are also important life skills for
corporate and academic environments, as well as for daily activities.
Mental game pointers and lessons from world-class athletes are provided. You
will also hear directly from several gold medalists whose winning mentality
helped them triumph in the Olympic crucible. The book presents nine "golden
reflections" through personal and inspirational stories from U.S. and
international Olympic champions who won in summer or winter sports. Each
athlete discusses his or her frame of mind when training and competing for
Olympic gold. You will learn how to think, feel, and act like a champion as
preparation for accomplishing your highest athletic and fitness goals.
The suggestions in this book are based on classic studies and the latest
research findings in performance psychology, as well as on my own extensive
professional experiences in sports psychology, where I learned what really
works. Read one chapter each day--or one suggestion each reading--to fully
absorb the contents. Then you'll be on your way to reaching your truest and
fullest potential. You'll be your own champion.
Let the games begin!
CHAPTER ONE
BE YOUR OWN CHAMPION
The attitude with which we approach the situation can determine our
success or failure.
--PEYTON MANNING
W hat separates the top few from the many in a sport? Mentality. The
importance of the mental side of athletics was once brilliantly summed
up by basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "Your mind is what makes
everything else work." Tennis great Novak Djokovic further explains: "[Among
the] top 100 players, physically there is not much difference. . . . It's a mental
ability to handle the pressure, to play well at the right moments."
So your mental game matters the most. Physical ability alone rarely translates
into a superior on-field performance. Even naturally gifted athletes who want to
perform to their total potential need outstanding physical and mental strengths,
because their secret to great performances is not their innate athleticism or
technical skills--it's their minds.
Top athletes are often distinguished, especially in the media, by their unique
natural gifts. For example, Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympic swimmer, has
the wingspan of an albatross, tennis star Roger Federer has the timing of an
exquisite Swiss watch, and Olympic sprinter and world-record holder Usain Bolt
is built out of lightning-rod-like twitch fibers.
Behind the scenes, their mind-set and work ethic have enhanced their natural
abilities. If you aspire to be a champion, don't be awed by the glitter of their
excellence; instead, know that they also put in many thousands of hours in the
pool, on the court, and at the track to build up their bodies and shape their minds.
Distance runner Paavo Nurmi, dubbed the "Flying Finn" and the winner of
nine Olympic gold medals (including five at the 1924 Paris Olympics), declared,
"Mind is everything. Muscle--just pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because
of my mind." You, too, can develop the mental focus and discipline needed to
perform in your sport with a champion's mind. The mental abilities of
confidence, concentration, and composure are crucial for being a champion in
everything you undertake, be it work or sports or both.
In contrast to your physical abilities, your mental abilities may flutter moment
to moment, because your mind is susceptible to performance pressures and
situational demands. This being true, you cannot trust your athletic performance
to chance. Just as you can build physical strength through training, you can also
build mental strength through training. Mental dexterity must be practiced and
developed in a planned and purposeful manner so that you can elevate yourself
to a champion performance level in all endeavors.
Champion yourself. We all experience similar struggles and deal with
demanding challenges in our pursuit of excellence, regardless of the sport or
fitness activity. To be a champion, your true best self becomes key to personal
and athletic greatness. You know, as we all do, that only those performers who
think gold and never settle for silver will continue to strive for and reach their
highest, or gold, level. A champion makes greatness happen, despite what may
seem like impossible odds.
Of course most of us are not Olympians or professional athletes. But all of us
can acquire a champion's mind-set. Any athlete can learn to think like a
champion. Every one of us can be peak performers in the game of life by
achieving our own personal best. We can strive to be the best version of
ourselves. It is possible for us to stay "professional" whenever adversity strikes.
It is possible to ingrain mental fortitude that drives us forward. And it is possible
to take a championship approach.
Part of this process requires us to maintain our eagerness to learn and grow,
and to take well-trained, disciplined action to make solid change in our lives.
Sadly, only a small number of people qualify for the Olympics or become
professional athletes; so few people ever champion themselves and win with the
best version of themselves. This truth is hard to acknowledge, but if you do and
if you want your personal championship in life badly enough, then the ball is in
your hands. Now the question becomes, will you run with the ball or will you
drop it?
Understand that the difference between a pedestrian performance and a peak
performance begins and ends with your state of mind. Importantly, all of us can
learn to think like a champion, but will we? Adopting a winning mind-set will
help you perform at the top of your game and enable you to succeed when you
want to succeed the most. You have hidden inner potential to tap into in order to
unleash your inner champion.
A winning mind-set unlocks your athletic aptitude in competition. Champions
develop and maintain a complete body and mind approach to their performance
--the perfect blend of mentality, athleticism, and technique. They
enthusiastically make the best of every situation, consistently put in the hard
work, and take the extra time needed to realize their aspirations.
Compile a personal scouting report. As an athlete, compile your own scouting
report about yourself by taking a hard, unblinking look at all aspects of your
performance. To begin, think about the mentality, athleticism, technique, and
strategy that go into your performance. How would you rate yourself in these
four areas? How would others rate you? Be sure to stay upbeat, because a
negative attitude, poor effort, or an unwillingness to improve your conditioning,
technique, and strategy will leave you in the bleachers instead of on the medal
podium.
Table 1 shows that champions strive endlessly to reach their best level by
improving their mind-set, fitness, mechanics, and game strategy. Even if you are
a great natural athlete, you still have to tap into that talent. Even if you are on a
winning team, you will have to continue to push onward and believe that you
can improve. "No coach or team thinks in terms of happy or comfort--those are
not words that exist. You keep competing, executing, and trying to improve. It
doesn't matter if you have the best record or the worst record," says Gregg
Popovich, head coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
Which level are you committed to reaching--bronze, silver, or gold? No
matter your current performance level, never rule out your capacity to become a
champion in your game and in your life. You can do better. You can achieve
your true potential. It is possible to make a major impact on your own life by
shifting your beliefs and expectations about what you can achieve. Attitude is a
decision, and it is also a learned behavior, requiring discipline and energy to
sustain.
TABLE 1: Excellence always requires an
Olympian effort.
BRONZE PSYCHOLOGICAL PHYSICAL TECHNICAL TACTICAL
SILVER (MIND-SET) (FITNESS/ (PROPER (GAME
STRENGTH)
Good MECHANICS) STRATEGY)
Better Good
Good Good
Better
Better Better
SILVER Better Better Better Better
GOLD Best Best Best Best
To perform at a champion's level, think of gold as your official color of
excellence. Look at your personal and athletic efforts through gold-tinted lenses.
Think about personal gold as both a reward and a color of action or prompt to
bring out your best qualities and performance. Olympic wrestling champion
Jordan Burroughs says, "All I see is gold." It is his mantra. Like Burroughs, look
on the more positive side of events and always shoot for the most favorable
outcome.
Whether you are a student-athlete, a weekend warrior, a professional athlete,
or a serious contender for the Olympics, going gold today will allow you to work
to achieve superior performance and gain a genuine competitive advantage.
Striving for the highest level will give you the best shot for personal greatness.
We all deserve to shine and be successful, but we can achieve this only through
intelligently applied hard work.
Recognize that there will never be a better time and place than right now and
right here to become a champion in your own game and life. To paraphrase Bob
Dylan: You are either busy being born or busy dying. Let's get busy achieving
your athletic goals. Put on your own gold medal performance, whether you are
going to the gym, running trails, or stepping on the gridiron in a championship
game. Why settle for anything less? Consider:
� Don't have the time? You are worth the time!
� Don't have the energy? You will gain energy!
� Doubt yourself? Start doubting your doubt!
THE CHAMPION QUESTION
Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from
something they have deep inside them--a desire, a dream, a vision.
--MUHAMMAD ALI
What will your life look like when you have become your own champion? This
is the key champion question. Take some time right now to imagine that a major
performance breakthrough in your game and life has just occurred and that you
have become a champion all day, every day. In your mind's eye, work your way
through a regular weekday, a practice or training session, and a future
competition. Draw together as much detail as possible about what it will look
like to be at a gold level, to be the best version of yourself consistently. What
specific actions or behaviors do you see yourself doing better or differently?
Now that you have reshaped and redefined your game, what do you think
others will perceive? What do you want them to observe? What would really
surprise your teammates, coaches, or competitors? If you could step outside
yourself and examine your new performance, what would you recognize in your
new attitude and behaviors?
Identify precisely what you do that hurts your own cause the most. Eliminate
that action or viewpoint immediately. To perform at a champion's level, you
must break any bad habits, such as a tendency to arrive late to practice or just
going through the motions when you get there. We are all champions until we
lose to ourselves.
Make your new gold story compelling, one that is active and personal. You
need to see it to achieve it. Each time you do this exercise, your vision of how
you perform as a champion will become clearer and stronger. Your new mental
picture will get the performance ball rolling in the right direction.
To go a step further, it is good to contrast the personal pride and peace of
mind that results from having a champion approach to life with the future pain
and regret of knowing in your heart that you settled for less than your best. Will
you continue to sacrifice what you most want to achieve in your game for what
is comfortable in the moment? Or will you keep putting your best foot forward,
especially when you feel like doing it the least?
My favorite description of what excellence in the sports world looks like
comes from Anson Dorrance, the legendary University of North Carolina
women's soccer coach. He was driving to work early one morning, and as he
passed a deserted field, he noticed one of his players off in the distance doing
extra training by herself. He kept driving, but he later left a note in her locker:
"The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at
the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching." The young woman, Mia
Hamm, would go on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the
sport.
Having a big dream--and a clear vision of what you will look like while
pursuing competitive excellence--always inspires greatness. What is your dream
goal? What does excellence in your game look like when you are fully dialed in
and passionately pursuing your dream--becoming the best you can be in your
sport? Make the description vivid and powerful enough to give you that burst of
adrenaline when you need it, a burst that can come only from connecting
completely with your heart's true desire.
Dame Kelly Holmes, a British track star, held on tight to her athletic dreams
when she was faced with personal hardships and physical hassles. Specifically,
Holmes had to prevail over both depression and physical injury to shine on
sport's biggest stage--striking gold in both the 800-meter and the 1500-meter
races at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In her book Just Go For It! 6 Simple Steps to
Achieve Success, this double gold medalist explains the importance of always
thinking in terms of possibilities: "We would accomplish many more things if
we did not think of them as impossible. A dream is not impossible, so go get
yours!"
ACT LIKE YOU'RE A CHAMPION
Be great in act, as you have been in thought.
--WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
There is no golden road to excellence; excellence is the golden road. Until you
start down this road, you'll never have a chance of getting there. As such, act as
if you are a total champion for set amounts of time each day by exceeding
normal expectations. This time is where the rubber meets the road. You are
confident, focused, energized, and in charge.
How does it feel different when performing at peak levels versus just doing
business as usual? Are you arriving early to practice or running late? Are you
making weekly plans for training or just winging it because you're too tired or
too busy? Are you giving the extra effort needed for excellence?
A nonmedalist says, "One day I will," whereas a gold medalist does it and
says, "Today I did." Sergey Bubka of Ukraine, a record-setting pole-vaulter and
gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, always advocated others to "Do it.
Then say it." Actions really do speak louder than words, so take a moment right
now to ask yourself, "Am I walking (or running) the talk with how I'm preparing
myself for competition?"
Some days you will not feel motivated or your nerves will have gotten the best
of you. You will feel as though you have only your B-or C-game ready. This
moment will be your moment of truth. Imagine, for example, that you are
experiencing prepractice dread. Resolve to spend the first 30 minutes attacking
your workout with enthusiasm, as if you really do love it. Most of the time you
will continue in the same manner because you will be rolling along and
achieving and feeling better than you did.
The best and quickest solution for overcoming your inner resistance,
challenging old patterns, and changing bad habits is to fake it until you either
find your A-game and recover your form or finish it, and the game has ended.
Slow it down and break it down. Panic is not an option for a champion.
Doing the one thing you don't want to do (going to the gym/sticking to your
nutrition plan) rather than giving in to your fears/anxiety by clinging to the
familiar (putting the workout off until tomorrow/eating the whole pizza) is your
decision at the fork in the road that will determine whether you accomplish your
sports goals. Realize that this choice is your choice--you can either act like a
champion or take the path of least resistance and not feel challenged.
Push right through your impasse. Stand tall and walk strong. Keep your head
in the game. Maximize your mental resources. Eventually you will develop
positive new ways of being and performing that will become automatic in their
own right. This strategy is a game changer that will rewire you with peak
behaviors and emotions. Acting like a champion really works if you work at it.
So go work at it now.
BRING IT EVERY DAY
It's not every four years. It's every day.
--MOTTO OF THE UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
Chip Kelly, head football coach of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, acquired a
compelling team motto when he coached the University of Oregon Ducks to
unprecedented success: "Win the day." This means you should take advantage of
the opportunity that each day brings to be the best athlete you can be. "If you're
not getting better, you're getting worse" is a winning philosophy that must be
embraced to reach personal excellence and competitive greatness. Peak
performance is the daily strike zone we are aiming for.
---
[Cuối tài liệu]
W
Warner, Kurt, 103
Watson, Tom, 233
Weaknesses, chasing, 101�2
Westbrook, Peter, 236
White, Shaun, 80
Whitman, Walt, 221
Wieber, Jordyn, 74�75
Wilkinson, Laura, 132�33
Will-do-now list, 16�19
Williams, Susan, 126
Wilson, Russell, 86, 93
Winning attitude, 95
Winning, fear of, 66. See also Playing to win Wisdom of champion
accept self unconditionally, 105�6
admire versus idolize favorite players, 98�99
avoid self-defeat, 109�10
be a good fan, 110
believe in self, 95�96
be professional, 110�11
build strengths, 101�2
chase weaknesses, 101�2
crack starting lineup, 100�101
evaluate progress, 114�15, 115
express self fully, 94
failure can teach, 97�98
find your reason for competing, 104�5
forget mistakes, 97
get comfortable being uncomfortable, 111�12
keep improving, 93�94, 113�14
keep learning, 106�7
keep moving forward, 102�3
keep training, 106�7
maintain great perspective, 108�9
mastery approach and, 91�93
peak performance is like pile of sand, 112
seek help to improve, 99
Serenity Prayer, 107�8
strength comes from struggle, 99�100
success is peace of mind, 95
think of practice as championship, 104
work is necessary, 101
Womack, Tony, 2
Wooden, John, 24, 73, 95
Woods, Tiger, 2, 98�99, 107
Work, need for, 101
Workout calendar, 121
Workout tips, 13, 120�21. See also Exercise Y
Young, Steve, 93
Z
Z�topek, Emil, 49�50
Zen, 156
Zenkai, Gisan, 159
Zen meditation, 151
Zen proverb, 179
Zen teaching stories
Breathing, 170�71
The Burden, 158�59
Chasing Two Rabbits, 174�75
Chop Wood, Carry Water, 171�72
Cliffhanger, 161�62
Destiny, 173�74
A Drop of Water, 159�60
Empty Your Cup, 157
The Frog and the Centipede, 165�67
The Gift of Insults, 162�63
Going with the Flow, 172�73
Great Waves, 164�65
The Inn, 175
It Will Pass, 171
The King and the Peace Contest, 169�70
Masterpiece, 168
Maybe, 160�61
The Monk and the Mirror, 157�58
Painted Tiger, 170
purpose of, 156, 177
The Statue, 176�77
Taming the Mind, 167�68
use of, 155�57
Working Very Hard, 163�64
Zone, being in, 60�61, 169
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