High-Performance Practice: The Impact of Affirmations in Developing Resiliency
Being a Better Soccer Player: High-Performance Practice is a new series from Jim Madrid.
Whether you are sidelined as a soccer player because of injury or benched for some reason you do not understand, every successful player has faced, and overcome adversity. Here is valuable information on the value of dreams and goals.
You also might want to read: BEING A BETTER SOCCER PLAYER: TOP TEN TRAITS OF RESILIENT PLAYERS
All of us have to deal with adversity, obstacles, setbacks, even tragedy, at some point in our lives. There’s no question about it.
At some point in our lives, all of us, no matter who we are or what our circumstances may be, have to deal with adversity, obstacles, setbacks, occasionally even tragedy.
No one gets a steady, uninterrupted walk in the park—not even famous soccer stars, celebrities, or world leaders, no matter how perfect their lives may seem to you looking at them as an outside observer.
You may not welcome them when they arrive, obstacles and setbacks can actually be beneficial.
In our AST seminars, I talk a lot about end-result thinking, which simply means staying focused, not only on what you’re doing in the present but also on what you eventually want to accomplish or achieve in the future.
Your present thoughts determine your future.
A very simple example of this might be driving home from work or some other place you’ve spent the day. If you encountered roadblocks or other obstacles on your drive home, would you put a “For Sale” sign on your car and give up? It might take you longer, but you’d figure out another way to make it home, wouldn’t you?
In other words, you’d do whatever it takes.
That’s because you have a crystal-clear picture of your goal in mind, and you believe one hundred percent in your ability (your efficacy) to achieve that goal.
So, if you do not get along with your coach, do you toss away your cleats? Of course not.
If you dream of being your best on the field, and possibly playing in college or becoming a professional soccer player, then you want to be focused on your goal.
That’s how goals work;
- Create a clear mental picture of the end result you want.
- Invent the how-to.
- Refuse to give up until your picture becomes reality.
But remember, first comes the vision, then you invent the ‘how-to’.
If you hold a clear picture of the end result you want in your mind, invent the plan or how-to as you go along, and refuse to give up until your picture becomes reality, you can pretty much count on getting where you want to go.
Of course, you might be thinking, “that’s much easier said than done.” And you’re absolutely right. It is. Most things worth having require some effort, and some of them require extraordinary effort.
Saying you’re going to get there no matter what is only the first step.
Affirmations can help. We teach how to use the concept of writing your goals out in an affirmation form, first person, present tense and, of course, they have to be positive.
Affirmations are a powerful tool. They work. Professional soccer players like DeAndre Yedlin, Brad Evans, and many others have use affirmations to reach the elite level of performance.
When you keep affirming your belief that you can achieve the end result you want, no matter what it takes, you are creating a picture inside your mind that your subconscious works hard to bring into reality.
Most things worth having require effort. Some require extraordinaryeffort.
BUT … When you affirm a belief that you can achieve the end result you want, no matter what, you create a mental picture that your subconscious works to make real.
It is important to be vision driven. Talked about your vision all the time. There will always be setbacks and roadblocks but never give up on your dream.
- Have a goal,
- Affirm that you’ll make it happen,
- Refuse to give up.
When we expand our goal beyond what we currently know how to make happen, if our mental image of the goal is stronger than current reality, and if we stay focused on the end-result we intend to achieve, we set in motion powerful internal forces that will help us invent the “how” as we go along.
Pause for a minute or two now and complete this exercise. As usual, it’s best if you write your answers, not just think about them.
Think back to a time in your life when you wanted something badly,
- Were determined to make it happen, and refused to give up?
- Did you have a clear picture in mind of what you wanted?
- How was your energy level while you were working to make it happen?
- What happened when you met an obstacle or had a setback?
- How did you feel when you finally achieved your goal?
When you stubbornly pursue your goals, in spite of setbacks, amazingthings can happen!
It’s amazing, isn’t it, just what you can accomplish when you know exactly what you want and refuse to give up until you get it. Sometimes, being stubborn can keep your mind closed to new ideas, but It’s a good thing to be stubborn when you’re in pursuit of a goal you really want to achieve.
Jim Madrid is the Founder of AST, a California-based Human Performance firm. Jim is an accomplished consultant, speaker, and author and has developed a nationally recognized performance coaching and player development program.
Jim Madrid and AST work with professional, collegiate and youth sports. Elite athletes from professional soccer, basketball, baseball, and football have greatly benefitted from the AST curriculum and concepts.
It’s not clinical, it’s practical.
As an expert in human behavior, Jim and his locker room of expert coaches are sought-after advisors to coaches and players wishing to optimize their performance.
The information presented is research-driven and based on cognitive and neuropsychology, illustrating to each participant how to ‘retrain your brain’ to create and lead an Extra-Ordinary Life.
