Athlete Mindset Tips to Unleash Holistic Performance

Athlete mindset tips are (and probably always will be) a hot topic. As long as you’re human, you’ll have endless opportunities to strengthen your mindset and improve your performance. It’s an inside job that never ends. As you evolve, you’ll look at things differently. This is one of the reasons that I began studying mindset and mindfulness, and will continue to do so. 

Before I get too far into this article, keep in mind that what I am about to share is a little bit unorthodox and goes beyond your typical “positive self-talk” mindset tips. There’s certainly a place for that as I’ve written about topics like self-talk before, but here we’re going to go a little deeper into the inner work for holistic performance. 

Years ago someone once told me about a saying floating around the NFL that goes something like this, “If the man’s not right, the player will never be right.”

This is powerful, and it goes beyond sports. 

As I wrote about in Athlete Branding Blueprint, there is no difference between the person you are at work and the person you are at home. You are one. 

Disconnect happens when you’re not operating in authenticity. It’s when you listen to the noise of the world, and your ego, more than you listen to your intuition (i.e., the centered place of crystal clear stillness within you.) It also happens when you feel you have to one person in one place, and another person in another place. 

I was at a workshop in Boston recently with the HOF mindfulness teacher, George Mumford. The divine lined things up so that I would attend a “sporadic” dinner and George would sit right next to me. I couldn’t have manifested the situation any better. I have spoken with George before, and every time he asks the most puzzling, yet insightful questions. 

He asked me a question about my next steps in my career, which I answered by going on a bit of a rant about what people tell me I should do next and what I think I should maybe do next. 

Do you know what he told me? He said, “You know what you’re doing right? You’re should-ing all over yourself.” 

Of course, I laughed; but, wow, he was right. This is not the first time he’s said this to me by the way, but it was a reminder that I needed. 

What is it that I really want? What is my heart telling me? My ego-mind is distracted by all the “should” statements, which are often accompanied by guilt and self-doubt. These questions linger even now, but I am certain that the answers will come in due time within a meditative and living practice of stillness, which breeds true clarity. 

Later that night, I reflected on how earlier that day during the workshop he spoke about how you can only be a leader once you can fully be yourself. 

All this to say that if you want to be the CEO of your own life, whether that is on the court, off the court, or elsewhere, you have to first know yourself. The “man” (i.e., human being) has to be right. 

7 Holistic Athlete Mindset Tips

“To sum up what mamba mentality is, it means to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself.”

– Kobe Bryant

1. Know yourself. How often do you take the time to reflect on not only your past and your future but your present? What are your values, and how are they showing up in your life? What are you buttons that can be pushed? What have you done well and what have you not done so well? The more you know yourself, the better you’ll perform. So, who are you when no one is looking? That key will help you begin to connect with yourself but also help you begin to shift into a growth mindset.

2. Be more of yourself. I was interviewed for a podcast recently when the topic of branding and alter egos came up. We specifically spoke about Kobe Bryant’s “Black Mamba” alter-ego. There were many reasons this worked for Kobe, but I believe that chief among them is that even when he stepped off the court, he embodied the “Mamba Mentality.” It wasn’t that he was being someone else on the court, but rather that he was more locked into his existing performance mindset. The person on the court and the person off the court were one.

3. Listen to your intuition. Performance is about trust as much as it is about practice and skill. Learn to get still, quiet, and listen free from ego and judgment. How do you know when you’re in this place? Well, as I also wrote about in the book, my spiritual coach taught me that intuition feels the same as when you know you have to pee. It’s flatlined and factual. This is important because sometimes your ego will trick you with emotions.  If you removed the emotion, would your answer stay the same?

4. Detach from judgment. Have you ever been frustrated because you’re trying your best, but you can’t seem to get your performance to click? This is essentially a place of resistance because you’re trying to force your way into playing better. You’re so attached to the outcome that you’re not fully focused on the performance in the moment.  Instead, remove the judgment of thinking about how you’re doing, and as the saying famous goes, just do it. (Hint: A practice of meditation and stillness really helps train your mind to be able to do this.)

5. Choose your environment wisely. All day, every day your mind and body are taking in endless amounts of information from the music you listen to, to the social media posts you scroll through, to the conversations you have, to the thoughts you focus on, to the food that you eat, etc. Adding to that, you have a subconscious mind that’s coasting through the day with you providing habitual information. To be at your best, spend some time being mindful of the different activities throughout the day. Note how they make you feel. Which ones make you feel clear? What adds to confusion? When are you trusting? When are you fearful? When are you at your best? Create a bubble of empowerment.

6. Engage thoughts carefully. Creating an empowering environment is just as much about what goes on within you as it is about what goes on outside of you. You don’t have to believe or entertain every thought that you have. If your thoughts are helpful, you can choose to engage them. If they aren’t helpful, you can choose not to engage with them.

7. Bring mindfulness into your body. Mindfulness isn’t just about being present in your thoughts, it’s also about being present in your body. With “bare awareness” you’re simply aware of all thoughts and sensations without judgment. All too often I’ve discovered that the mind and body are disconnected. I was on a run the other day using the Nike Run app. The app partnered with Headspace to create mindful running meditations. I decided to try one called “End of Day Run,” which was led by Chris Bennett and Andy Puddicombe. During the run, the coaches instructed me to let go of my thoughts, and instead focus on feeling my body running by noticing such sensations as my feet touching the ground and my breath moving through my body. But there was something else I found interesting. Puddicombe noted that it’s not always easy to clear your mind. Part of the process of letting go of your thoughts includes having them in the first place. I found comfort in that and it helped me let go of them more easily so I could focus on my run. Before I knew it, I was running faster, lighter, and freer. My second mile was faster than my first. Coincidence?

Naturally, there are an infinite number of ways you can improve your mindset and performance. If you can start to get to know yourself just a little bit more each day, you’ll see the results in the outcomes of your goals. 

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