Mental Toughness: Are You a Baby?

For those that follow my blog, you know I am the proud father of 6 month old twin sons, Luke and Jack. While I am not 100% certain (haven’t had them actually tested), I am confident they are geniuses. I’m serious!

Why? Because they have already figured out the 6 keys to success:

1) Persistence: they never quit. Ever. When they want something… to be fed, to be changed, or hold a toy… they do not stop until they get what they want. Right now they are learning to crawl… and they spend hours and hours “practicing.”

How persistent are you in getting what you want? How relentless are you in your development?

2) Communication: they speak their minds. Granted, it’s in the form of crying, grunting, laughing, and Gibberish... but they do communicate. And they are attentive listeners. When Mr. Wiggles is talking, my boys are listening! They communicate with me (coach) and they communicate with each other (teammate).

Does everyone on your team know their role? Their strengths and weaknesses? The team’s goals? Is this being communicated among coaches and players?

Quick side note: My wife is the Head Coach of our family; I am a lowly assistant.

3) Enthusiasm: they have a passion for everything they do! When they are happy, they bounce around and their faces light up the room. When they aren’t, they flail their limbs and they cry like wild hyenas.

How much passion do you have for the game? Is your enthusiasm contagious? Do you raise the level of those around you?

4) Structure: they are on a schedule. They go to sleep at the same time every night, get up at the same time every day, and eat (and nap) at scheduled intervals. They have a consistent routine.

Do you have a daily routine? Do your workouts/practices have structure or are they haphazard?

5) Uninhibited: they don’t care about looking cool. They will (literally) crap their pants while staring at directly at you. They don’t care if they fall on their face or if they have vomit on their shirt. They are comfortable being themselves. And they aren’t afraid to make mistakes.

Are you worried what others will think if you make a mistake? Do you only practice the skills you are good at so you don’t look bad?

6) Imagination: they think outside of the box. They can spend an hour playing with a ball of tissue paper. They make the most of what they have.

How much imagination do you put in to your own workouts/practices? When you are doing drills, do you imagine there is a defender… or do you just do the drill?

So there you have it, Luke and Jack have figured out the 6 keys to success. Now, it’s my job as their father to make sure they maintain these traits as they get older.

If they go through life with persistence, can effectively communicate, have an unbridled enthusiasm, have a consistent daily schedule, aren’t afraid to make mistakes, and can think creatively… they will be successful in whatever they choose to do.

I have my fingers crossed its basketball.

Just kidding.

No I’m not.

I will leave you with this…

Your answer to the question I ask at the beginning of this video clip will determine how successful you will be: http://TinyUrl.com/WaitingVsPreparing

Please let me know if I can ever be of service to you for your program. You can email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com
www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

PS: I will be speaking about proper pre-season and in-season strength & conditioning at basketball coaching clinics in Columbus, OH (September 27), Orlando, FL (October 1), and Houston, TX (October 2). If you live in one of those areas, I hope to see you there!