“Embrace the target. Know we’re not perfect. Mistakes happen and nobody is perfect.
Embrace the failures. Playing it safe could lead to mediocrity. The process is fearless.
The process lacks emotion, is the moment, is the mental anchor, and simplifies the task.”
- Joe Maddon (Manager, Chicago Cubs)
(Photo by CBSlocal.com)
Who said the Chicago Cubs couldn’t win the World Series? Well, even if you didn’t say it, you may have believed it along with generations of baseball fans over the past 108 years. So how did they finally overcome? While many of their fans believed in a curse, this year’s team chose to believe in a process bigger than themselves, bigger than a curse, and more powerful than generations of naysayers.
Following their Manager’s lead, they committed to a level of mental toughness that few teams ever reach. The Cubs are champions today because they mastered four critical areas:
Discipline
Disciplined action builds the foundation upon which dreams, goals, and visions can be securely placed. When physical fatigue screams out, mental discipline opens the door to the next level. Discipline is essential on the playing field, but the real magic is in the preparation of each player, training, preparing, while no one’s watching. Championship teams are made up of individuals who are each one, devoted to building that solid foundation.
Belief
Faced with over one hundred years of disappointment, Chicago and their devoted fans prayed for a championship but might not have always believed it would actually happen. It doesn’t matter how much you want something if you don’t believe it’s possible to have it. The Cubs were forced to set aside outside influences and tap into their own team belief system. They proved that self confidence is more commanding than past statistics. They made a conscious decision to create their own reality, supercharged by a unified belief in one another.
Expectations
The expectations of a champion always exceed those of the spectator. Champions are unafraid to raise their bar to heights most believe are impossible to achieve. They tap into an inner belief that refuses to play by the majority’s rules. The secret sauce is creating a level of unmatched expectations while maintaining a commitment to stay in the present moment–immersed in the process.
Vision
Goals, are for achieving. Visions, are for becoming. At the beginning of the season, each player on the Chicago Cubs had a goal of wearing a World Series ring, but their vision was to become champions. To attain the goal of winning, they had to connect to a mental picture of what that championship would look, feel, sound, and smell like. This part of the winning equation is mandatory - finding the courage to mentally declare a championship before they physically became champions.
A champion mindset is based upon a daily disciplined practice. It is an unwavering belief in yourself and your team. It is the ability to set the bar just beyond reach–believing in the improbable, in order to show others what is actually possible. It is about holding tight to a dream no matter who may be trying to pry it from your hands, because you can see, feel, taste that moment of victory with your very soul.
About Coach Dayne Gingrich
As a former professional athlete, Dayne Gingrich quickly learned that success wasn't based on physical talent alone, but rather the ability to mentally prepare for unrelenting tests of character. He took the lessons he learned as an athlete and turned them into his life long purpose - change people's lives by changing their mindsets. With a vision of helping others live a life of confidence and passion, Dayne's mental performance coaching is aimed at elevating our belief in what we're capable of achieving, and aligning our mindset with those new expectations. Visit CoachDayne.com for more information.
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