Hello,

Thanks so much to those of you who responded with feedback on Success Stories Membership a couple days ago. Here is one favoring the interactions among members:

If you haven't had the chance, please take a moment now.

If you decided not to join our membership, I'd love to hear why. Your insights would be incredibly valuable in helping me address these concerns and make improvements.

On the other hand, if you did join our membership, what was it in the messaging that made you know this was for you?

Thanks again. I hear you and want to tailor services to best meet your needs.

Now ... on to the lessons

Have you ever worried about something that never ended up happening?

"All the time!" is a frequent response.

While anxiety is a good emotion designed to tell us what could go wrong so we can prepare, it isn't a great about predicting the future with accuracy.

But here is where your anxiety and worry are reliable. They point to what you care about most.

100% of the time when we are worried or anxious it is because we care about the end result. 

The feared outcome may or may not happen. It might or might not be realistic.

We can't trust the content of our anxious mind without checking it out first and see what's valid and helpful.

But the one thing we can trust is that we are in the right place doing something we care very much about.

Perhaps the next time you worry before a competition, rather than get caught up in the catastrophic images of what could go wrong, use the anxiety to pivot and remind yourself that you love where you are and what you are doing. And out of that place of love, refocus on what you can do to win.

Ultimately your sport doesn't care about what you think or feel. Whoever scores the most points always wins (except in golf, then it's the lowest, but you know what I'm saying).

You could win feeling sad, excited, insecure, thankful, nervous, or angry. There isn't a requirement to feel a particular way.

It's just how those feelings affect your attention that matters. Because you do have to pay attention to what you are doing in the moment of your performance, whether that be on the ball, your opponents position, the goal, or your technique and form.

But never what you're worried about in the future. Yet this is where our head goes when we are anxious. Overthinking and rapid thoughts of mistakes we don't want to make and who we may let down.

Here is a quick refocus strategy for you ... anytime you catch yourself stuck 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 your head, focus 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 on what you need to do.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦.

***

If you want support to overcome your anxiety, improve focus and play your best when it matters most - join us inside Success Stories Membership at dreddieoconnor.com/membership

In the feedback, I also heard that some of you may feel like this is only for athletes in competition season!?!

Not true!

Many members are adults with athletic mindsets looking to improve health habits or occupational performance (like musicians, artists and even a K9 trainer!). We have a young gymnast and runner participating both in and out of season, as well as older adults including an ultra-marathoner and jiu-jitsu champion.

Your mental and emotional game takes time to develop. And Success Stories is here to support you on that journey of excellence.

See you on the inside🥇

***

Dr. Eddie O’Connor

www.DrEddieOConnor.com

DrEddie@dreddieoconnor.com