Archive: Stoicism in Sport
Obstacles Are Necessary
August 25, 2022Obstacle. Your immediate reaction to this word is probably somewhat negative. That’s understandable given the common definition of obstacle as “something that impedes progress or achievement” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Who wants progress or achievement impeded? I think many people would prefer to achieve their goals without too many obstacles. How about you? The Obstacle Is the […]
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Play With Courage
February 9, 2022“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States Courage. In Stoic philosophy, it is one of the four cardinal virtues (wisdom, temperance, and justice are the others). It’s that important. Striving for your potential depends […]
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Meditate On Your Mortality To Embolden Your Mindset
February 28, 2020Ambition itself seems to come effortlessly. It isn’t very challenging to dream big. The real challenge comes in the motivation to actualize those ambitions. Putting your money where your mouth is is often where most of us run into some roadblocks. The dream is there, but the motivation is difficult to maintain. When the going […]
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Contemplation of the Sage and Your Ideal Self
February 14, 2020If you’re anything like us here at PerformanceXtra, then you do a lot of contemplation on self-improvement. As athletes, we’re always working to be better than we were the day before. To be better, faster, stronger. Every day, we work towards actualizing our ideal self. However, before we can mold ourselves into our ideal selves, […]
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Use Stoicism to Develop Emotional Intelligence
January 24, 2020Let me ask you something: Have you ever thought about how many forms of intelligence there are? Does that seem like a preposterous question to you? There’s only one type of intelligence: intelligence. If you’re smart, you’re smart, right? Well, not quite. While there is certainly an overarching general intelligence within the human mind, it […]
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Triumph and Disaster: Treat Those Two Imposters the Same
December 19, 2019In 1895, the Nobel Laureate Rudyard Kipling composed the poem “If-,” which later went on to become one of the most popular poems in Great Britain. In it, he etched the famous words If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same. These same words appear above the […]
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Seneca Tells Us That Adversity Enhances Your Performance
November 7, 2019Stoicism has blown up in recent years. All eyes seem to be on Stoicism and the ancient thinkers who developed it. Do you ever wonder why that is? Well, there’s actually a really simple reason. It’s because times are tough nowadays. Many people are facing down daily adversity. The whole world appears to be rather […]
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Askēsis: Stoic Ethics For Reaching Your Highest Potential
October 31, 2019Every competitor is familiar with the necessity of training. This is nothing new. Everyone knows they need self-discipline to achieve success in any endeavor, whether that be in sports or otherwise. But many of us have difficulty in acting as disciplined as we could be. Some days we’re not feeling it. Some days we’re feeling […]
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Three Ways Stoicism Can Foster The Flow State
October 24, 2019Can you think back to a past performance where you killed it? I mean, really killed it? Can you remember how good it felt? How effortless it felt to perform so well? Are you struggling to get that feeling back? Are you chasing that state of flow? A “flow state” is when you’re fully immersed […]
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How Marcus Aurelius Cultivated His Mental Toughness
October 17, 2019Marcus Aurelius was Emperor of Rome in the 2nd Century, ruling from 161 to 180 A.D. He is counted among the “Five Good Emperors,” and his reign marked the end of the Pax Romana, a two hundred year period marked by peace and stability in the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for Marcus, his reign wasn’t a […]
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How Your Emotions Are Sabotaging Your Performance
October 4, 2019Can you remember the last time you let your emotions get the best of you? The last time you lost your composure while under pressure? Our emotional reactions towards tough challenges can lead us to act in ways we shouldn’t and prevent us from performing at our best. But, facing down adversity is an inherent […]
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