TO ALL THE ATHLETES!!

Here’s an idea that will transform your life.As long as you do it, your athletic life willbe transformed.Raise your right hand and say, "I will neverlet self-pity get the best of me."What is self-pity?It’s the idea that you should never haveto suffer.Other athletes can endure setbacks, maddeningofficiating, or bad coaching.…just not you.The way self-pity shows up in competition?When something happens you don’t like,you take a turn to negative town.You complain - in your head and to people.About officiating, coaching, conditions,even your own mistakes.The list of things to complain about insport is long and distinguished.When bad things happen, most athletes indulgetheir self-pity and complain.They complain in their mind -- and to anyonewho’ll listen.They get attention this way.But self-pity is emotional quicksand.It distracts you from finding solutions.Once activated, self-pity wants more pain,and it will feed off itself to make youmiserable.In the NBA, each player gets a box scorefrom the coach.And the last five letters a player wantsto see is DNP/CP.It stands for “did not play, coach’s decision”.Basketball superstar Steve Nash got these lettersfrom his coach 14 times straight in his rookie year.Self-pity?Not for Steve. Not his style.He figured playing behind two of the bestguards in the NBA was a great opportunity toimprove.He said, “The practices are my games –my job is to challenge them every day,and that will pay off for me in the future.”So here’s the deal:No self-pity for the next 7 days. Not in your head and not out loud.Instead of self-pity, you’re going to CHANNEL yourfrustration.You’re going to make your opponent pay.And while you’re re-training your mind,why not go all the way and re-train yourselffor superior mental toughness?