I don't believe in luck ... and neither should you
Mar 17, 2022 11:31 am
Happy St. Patrick's Day,
I'm feeling very Irish today, remembering my Dad who was from County Kerry, Ireland before coming over to NYC when he was just 18 to start a life in America. He was always so proud of his heritage and loved to go to the parade in Manhattan, jump in line and march. And his attempts at Irish dancing! It wasn't Riverdance but it didn't matter, he loved it.
So, like my Dad, I hope you are spending time doing the things you love.
I have these last 3 weeks at the Open. Here is a snapshot of the final workout. Double-unders gave me some trouble (goal to work on this year) but I redid the workout and got 20 more reps the second time :-)
You know how the saying goes ... "if at first you don't succeed ..."
So my first post below may be a controversial Irish message for St. Paddy's Day.
But the second I think you'll agree with as I help you prevent some problems.
Enjoy,
Dr Eddie
***
Good Luck?
On this St. Paddy’s Day I am going to go against my Irish heritage and say, “I don’t believe in good luck” and I don’t think you should either.
I do believe in preparation, however.
When you are truly prepared, you put yourself in a favorable position. You see things others don’t. You make quicker decisions and react faster. You are in the right place at the right time because you know that is the best place to be.
I don’t like to wish my athletes good luck before competition. I feel like it undermines all their training and puts the outcome in fate’s hands, as if they have nothing to do with the outcome.
No, I remind them that they have worked hard, studied hard, and trained hard. They have mastered their skills. They have a focus plan. They have taken care of their mind and body and are ready to go out there and execute. They are responsible and accountable for their performance. Luck has nothing to do with it.
When you lose and feel like your opponent “just got lucky”, check yourself. Is it possible that they were more prepared than you were? Don’t protect your ego and think something unfair happened as if you were entitled to win. They beat you for a reason. And it wasn’t luck.
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in preparation. And so should you.
Oh …and Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 🇮🇪
***
Prevent or React?
Is it better to prevent problems or take care of them after they happen?
Photo by Rinke Dohmen on Unsplash
The answer is obvious, isn’t it? Performance can remain at a high level, mistakes can be minimized, and distress can be buffered with a preventative approach.
So why do we wait until after we are stressed and anxious to work on our mental health and develop mental skills?
I suppose pain is a great motivator, but let me encourage you to do these three big things NOW and avoid problems later on.
🥇 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟴-𝟵 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. Avoid late night phone and computer work (the blue light keeps you up). Avoid caffeine after 3pm at the very latest. Spend the hour before bed doing something relaxing (a warm bath does wonders to enhance sleep onset).
🥈 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. The benefits of mindfulness are numerous but my athletes tend to report the greatest benefits of improved focus and emotional control. Your brain literally grows changes as you get mentally stronger not unlike your muscles when you physically exercise.
🥉 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀. Three benefits of healthy relationships include less stress, better healing, and healthier behaviors. You can’t help but be affected by the people you surround yourself with. Be sure they bring you up and inspire you to be better.
Want some help with these? I’ve got you.
The “𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘱” workshop will take care of 🥇
And 𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 has you covered for 🥈 and 🥉 with a community of high achievers overcoming obstacles to success together. We recently completed a month of mindfulness training, and a new module, “Mindfulness of the Mind” will drop soon.
***
Dr. Eddie O’Connor
