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Secret to Success
Today as I was taking a recovery bath, I was reading through multiple Instagram posts about “hump day”. It made me start to think about mindset. Is this really the mindset that so many people have? Are they really so excited that it’s Wednesday, so they are halfway done with the week?
These aren’t people stuck behind a desk either. These are people positing hump day workouts as if training is that big of a struggle. I have a secret for all of you that dream of succeeding in life. Success originates in the mind, but so many can’t see that. In the fitness world, everyone is looking for an edge. They want the best program. They want the best nutrition program. They love to talk about recovery.
However, when you mention “mindset” or “mental approach”, you get crickets. I am assuming that no one wants to think that they aren’t mentally strong. However at all the National Championships, it’s obvious that the number one thing holding people back is their brain. I see so many mental mistakes, but no one wants to correct it.
Our team works with Nathan Hansen perfecting our mental approach to sports. We published a sweet book “Performance Zone”, which is all about the ways that we get ready mentally for competition and training. Guys I am telling you, this is the difference maker.
It’s crazy how athletes put up such big walls when talking about sports psychology. I mean there are only 8 Men and 8 Women National Champions in Weightlifting. There is only one female and one male CrossFit Game Champion. That means there are a lot of you that needs to work on all aspects of your game. Your mental game is one of them. I dare say that your mental game is the biggest one that you need help with.
When you look at champions like Michael Jordan, Pyrros Dimas, or Ed Coan, it’s not their program or even their work ethic that destroyed their opponents. It’s their mind that won. Everyone works hard man! There are even a big percentage of people that dial in their nutrition and crush their mobility work. However, unless they fix the tool between their ears, none of that will ever matter.
Rich Froning ruled CrossFit because he was able to believe that he was going to win. He was able to go places in his mind that others simply couldn’t fathom. Most of you are looking under all the wrong rocks to find the missing piece. It’s right there inside your head. It’s your brain that needs the focus.
If you look at the gym as work or a grind, you have lost the game already. The gym is the place where I made my dreams come true. I wanted to be the best powerlifter in the world, and the gym was one of my tools. Dialing in my nutrition wasn’t a problem because it was a pathway to victory. Going to bed instead of going out with friends wasn’t a sacrifice. It was my road to victory.
Don’t you guys see? These things are small parts of a process leading exactly where you want to go. They’re not sacrifices. They are all bricks in a road taking you where you want to go. That’s the way a champion looks at those things.
When I stared at a bar filled with a weight that could potentially break my back, I didn’t fear it. I didn’t look at the bar and think about the massive amount of weight that I was about to attempt. I just knew that the weight loaded on the bar was in my way. It was in the middle of the road, a road leading exactly where I wanted to go. I was going to obliterate that obstacle, and that’s exactly what I did.
Look guys, I am writing this blog to show all of you the importance of a mindset shift. If you are working on everything except your mental game, you are leaving out the most important aspect. I recommend that you put down the programming book, and read all you can about sports psychology. If you don’t get ahold of your brain, you will never reach your potential.
Here’s one statement that is 100% true, “Your brain is either helping you or hindering you in reaching your goals.” Harnessing your brain to work in your favor will spill over to all aspects of your life. If you can take anything away from your athletic career, I pray that it is a stronger mindset.
Now stop talking about Hump Day, stop being sad on Monday, and look at every day as another day to crush your goals. This mindset is one that will have you ready to leap from your bed every morning. This is the way winners are made.
If you missed it, check out our book on mindset “The Performance Zone” at the link below:
Great article! I am going to share this with the athletes that I work with , and can also see the parallels to the folks that I see who have chronic or persistent pain!
Right on target Travis. I teach “Thought, Pattern, Power” If you think the right thoughts you will create the right patterns and the right patterns will release your power.