posted on: March 3, 2014
author: Brian Lomax, Ed.D.
Congratulations! You’re having a great season. You’re playing well, the victories are piling up and you’ve never felt better about your game. And of course, you want this feeling to last for as long as possible. In order to keep things going as they are, use the following 3 points as a guide for keeping yourself on track.
1. Continue the discipline – You haven’t reached this position without working hard and being disciplined in your approach. Whether you realize it or not, that’s a major reason as to why you’re so successful. Continue to do what you’re doing and constantly look for new habits and routines that will make you better. Oftentimes, success can lead us to get a little lazy about our routines and we have to guard against that. That’s self sabotage. Don’t fall prey to this. Understand that your success is determined by your daily agenda so keep it focused and committed to achieving your best.
2. Know who is in your corner – Everyone notices a successful team and/or athlete. People want to be associated with them. They want to hang out with them. However, these people don’t always have your best interest in mind when they come into your lives. They may distract you. They may tell you that you should be getting more playing time. They may tell you that they will make you rich. Their influence can be destructive and divisive, and ultimately may lead to a major drop in performance. Always remember who helped you become successful: your family, your teammates, your coaches and trainers, your long-time friends. When success comes, it’s important that you express gratitude to these people and strengthen your bonds with them. If new people are to come into your circle, let your “team” help you make the decision that these new people are the right people for you.
3. Be humble and respectful – Just because your successful right now, doesn’t mean you always will be. You came from nothing and you can always go back to being nothing if you’re not careful. How you conduct yourself and how you treat other people matters. Be humble and gracious. Your talent doesn’t make you better than everyone else – realize that hard work is what transforms talent into success and if you don’t work hard, your success will disappear a lot faster than it appeared. Respect those around you and build great relationships with them. At the end of your life, the ledger of success isn’t quantified in victories on the court or field. It’s based on the number of lives you’ve touched, influenced and helped. Use your success in sport to be a success outside of it.
We all want to be successful throughout our lives, but we often sabotage ourselves. Almost everyday, you can read a story about a celebrity or athlete who has fallen from grace. These are cautionary tales and we should pay attention to them. However, even if we do fall down, nothing is permanent. You became successful once and you can do it again. Just remember how you got there and understand how you can stay there. I wish you much success!
Dr. Brian Lomax founded PerformanceXtra™ in 2009 with a mission of helping athletes achieve their goals and their top performances more consistently through a progression of mental skills that enables them to focus on what is truly important.
Learn more about the author: https://performancextra.com/brian-lomax/
Good advice, as always!
On target and on point. Thank you Brian for helping me improve on many fronts by helping me with the framework needed for my sport (tennis).