Medals Are For Champions. Tips For Cultivating The Champion's Mindset

Hard work.

No one wants to do it because it sucks. Simply getting up in the morning knowing you have to get work done can be daunting some days. Let alone the idea of doing the task to the best of your ability. Despite how many breaks you take, there will always be the next day for the same shit. This is the reality of becoming the best and staying there. Lil Wayne, Tom Brady, Lebron James have the privilege of being deemed great because they put in the hard work in their field. They put in countless hours of sweat and tears. Long nights and early mornings doing the same thing over and over day after day for the simple fact of getting better. They may have complained on some days when they felt tired from the day before. They're sore, exhausted and nothing may have seemed to move the needle from yesterday to today. The game doesn’t care who wins, but it awards those who have proven that they deserve to compete. 

Focus

In the age of social media we have all the distractions we need from doing what it is we should be doing. From infinite scrolls on TikTok, to couch surfing by binging our favorite shows, it’s easy to forgo our responsibilities. Dishes pile up in the sink, clothes get worn multiple times before we clean them, and most of all our most important tasks are left on the shelf. Even when we do sit down to get something done, podcasts, music, news and again your newest phone will call your name. There’s even something called a phantom vibration where you think your phone vibrates even when it doesn't. The ability to focus is a lost cause these days because most of us don’t exercise that mental muscle. Being able to focus even for an hour can do tremendous things for your success. When you can do 2-3 hours then you're amongst the few in the world. It takes great focus to stay on track and keep your goals front of mind to be a winner.

Consistency 

My biggest struggle has been staying consistent. I can start many things, new hobbies, new tasks, new systems, and along the way things get left in the dust or sidelined to make room for the next thing. Being consistent is again a muscle to be trained. It’s easy to stay consistent with going to school and work because those are obligations bestowed upon you. When it comes to being consistent with the tasks you set up for yourself we make every excuse as to why it can't be done. I don’t think this is something bad, but I do think it was something ingrained in us that we have to once again work to unlearn. Society now doesn’t want us to be focused and consistent because we then would have the mental capacity to fight the institution and they wouldn't like that. More importantly I’m learning that consistency doesn’t just mean everyday. The freedom to set up your own schedule means staying consistent to what works for you. If four days a week works then stay consistent with that. If I said that I would post a blog every two weeks then I need to see my blog portfolio go up by two at the end of every month. Thinking about consistency this way, helps me plan in a way that allows me the freedom to do the things I want to do and make it easy to accomplish them. 

Extra mile

Second place sucks. And honestly I feel like I’ve been in second place my whole life. In middle school I was second chair in the band. In sports I was always good enough to be second string. I remember being recognized for my hard work but it was never enough to get a starting position. Sometimes, I think it’s because I didn’t really want the position because I didn’t care much. In reality I didn’t think I was good enough to get those positions. Not that I didn’t have talent, I knew I was good at what I did. However, I can recognize that I didn’t do more than necessary to deserve to be in first chair or to be a starter. Anyone who had a starting position went the extra mile to get more reps. They studied more and watched film. These things I did none of or did it sparingly. Going the extra mile is what makes a champion. No one has made it big in anything they did without doing more than was expected. These days I enjoy being underestimated because people don’t think I can produce the way that I can. Limitations only exist in the mind. You can achieve your best by pushing past what’s expected of you. 

Delusion

I recently heard that “fake it til you make it” is a bad way to think about change. As we break it down it’ll make sense as to why. Change in anything requires a change of thought first and foremost. This is the first and arguably the hardest change to address because changing one’s mind is hard. People hate going against themselves. It’s not a case of being wrong as much as it is having to open yourself to alternative ways of thinking. Pretending to be what you're not is the epitome of change. You have to start acting like who you want to be to ultimately become the person you’re striving to be. Moreover, you aren’t being fake by doing what that person would do, even though it doesn’t match who you are now. It takes a different kind of mindset to think you can compete with others and win above all odds. As you continue to prove others wrong, you continually prove yourself right.

Competitive 

Competition happens in everything. Even when it comes to putting clothes on we look at others and compare their outfits to ours or our perception of what fashion is. Even the smallest things can be made into a competition. No matter what you think of competition, some competition is necessary. I’ve been hearing a lot about how competition isn’t good or it isn’t important these days, mainly when it comes to kids. I disagree. We learn so much from competing with others. We learn what winning feels like just as much as the feeling of losing. I think having a sense of competition with certain things can help feed the ambition that lies within a person. We can have the best resources and be talented as hell… and still lose. Every winner has lost before. How you respond to both, will teach you a lot about yourself and ultimately determines how you perform in the future. Fall down seven times get up eight.

Leadership

To be a leader amongst others means first being a leader of yourself. If you can’t do what you command of others, you may not belong in that position. It doesn't mean you aren't a leader, you simply need better experience and knowledge. Or your strengths lie in a different lane that you have yet to explore. Some people aren’t meant to be leaders. However in your own life, if it was just you on your own, you are then made a leader. Contrary to popular belief, leaders don’t know everything, and someone who thinks they can’t be taught is someone who is lost. Thinking you know everything only shows how little you do know. I used to think I knew everything at a very young age, and I’m so glad I was humbled when I was. I had one person consistently test my wits and I slowly began to understand not that I was dumb but that there was more for me to learn. I believe leaders are learners. And they learn to keep going. It’s not always something that we are born with but if you can see the good in everything, you can carry on through the toughest of circumstances. 

-J