The Power of the Mind!

We train our bodies to perform amazing feats, but it's the strength of our minds and character that pulls us through the tough challenges. This story of a group of Tykes Football players shows exactly that.

The Power of the Mind is an amazing thing.  Absolutely amazing.  You see a great number of Successful People, Gurus, Success Coaches and Athletes talking about it BUT it can be hard to digest sometimes.  Life is the great proving ground.  It’s easy to get caught up in the daily challenges; and to be dragged down by the negatives of the day.  We all know that having a positive outlook is better than focusing on the negatives, BUT it can be hard to break your current outlook.

For all of you hardworking, strong willed powerhouses out there that need a little boost today, this short story is for you! It takes place on a football field in late October.

The obstacle and the failure

It is 7:45am on a Sunday morning when we pulled up to the wind swept, water soaked field.  The rain has no business here this day.  We should be looking at a field of white fluffy stuff but it is just a notch too warm to save us from the wet that chills to the bone. We are a team of Rookies.  22 out 29 players have never felt this before.  They are frozen and they are afraid.  The other team is huge, undefeated, regimented and they are ready!  We try to match up but we are getting run over.  Nobody wants to tackle and players are asking to come off the field.  Our mind and our will was broken.  We lost 44-14 but more importantly we gave up before the game even started.

Training the mind: A new outlook

Sport is an amazing training ground for personal growth; and this day was a very important moment for our guys.  This was the day that they decided to be stronger!  This was the day they decided to Fight!  

Practice became our training ground for more than just the sport but for the Mind.  We talked about the effects of fear and the amazing benefits of overcoming fear.  Our mantra became No Fear! Together they decided that they would look past the fear and they would fight for each other.  You could see a change in them immediately.  The drills were the same.  The environment was the same. Nothing else changed but their outlook and their mindset.  What happened next was inspiring and powerful.

The power of the mind: Standing up and fighting back!

It is 7:45am again and the weather is the same.  I am worried for my guys.  I don’t want to see them feel the way they felt last time.  It is time to put our mindset to the test.  We are up against the very same team in the very same conditions.  Once again, their team appears unaffected by the weather.  They are ready!  But this time something is different…..We are ready! My guys are ready to fight back!!  We are a smaller team of Rookies, and we are supposed to be pushed around and give up all season.  Not this day.  Not for the rest of the season.  This day was the day my guys learned how to stand up to adversity.  We marched down the field and scored on the first possession.  Guys that were too small and too afraid tackled everything that moved.  The other team’s coaches were losing their cool.  Despite the time and the weather, the crowd was on their feet.  This was not supposed to be happening, but it was!  What a battle.  When the dust settled we lost on the scoreboard 60-44 but on this day my guys learned how to fight through adversity.  They learned the power of the mind.

The result: Mental strength

We didn’t lose another game.  We went off to the B-playoffs and were set to face off against teams that had beaten us handily earlier in the season.  It was cold and wet in all of the remaining games.  The other teams were bigger and more experienced, BUT our guys knew how to fight.  Each practice and each game we worked on the same mental exercises.  We preached No Fear.  My guys played their hearts out and together they took home the B-Championship.  A small Rookie team with no business winning.

The Power of the Mind is incredible.  It is equally incredible how easy it is to forget this.  It’s so easy to procrastinate, to make excuses and to give up.  This story is about a group of 8-10 year old Children!  This was their first glimpse into the power of their mind.  We have all had our own No Fear moments.  We have all had to Fight.  

I hope this brings a smile to your face, a little gleam in your eye and helps you to tap into the strength that you know you have!

Cheers guys!