DO YOU REALLY WANT TO REACH YOUR ATHLETIC DREAMS?

Want to know why your competition may be beating you? Every athlete practices about the same amount of time every day. Learn why a select few athletes consistently excel.

TAKING YOUR TRAINING TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

Want to take your game to the next level? Got a BIG, SCARY sports dream that you'd desperately like to turn into reality? Well, the secret to you doing just this lies in HOW you practice on a daily basis. Most serious, competitive athletes in your sport put about the same amount of time into their training every week. Despite this, only a select few of these athletes REALLY get a lot out of their training and therefore improve a bit faster and slightly more than everyone else! What's their secret?

The vast majority of athletes train PHYSICALLY. That is, they regularly put the time into developing their physical skills, establishing a solid training base and developing the speed and strength necessary to excel. When you train PHYSICALLY you will improve! Then there's a much smaller percentage of athletes who train both PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY. That is, they learn the proper strategies of the game and then spend consistent time working on their MENTAL GAME. They learn how to stay calm under pressure, concentrate and let go of distractions, quickly leave their mistakes and failures behind them and mentally prepare for big performances. When you train PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY you will get a lot out of your training and out-compete those athletes who just train their bodies! Finally, there's an elite, much smaller, third group of athletes who regularly train PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY! That is, while they train their bodies and minds, THEY HAVE THEIR HEARTS IN WHAT THEY ARE DOING! When you train PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY, you will get the VERY MOST out of your practicing and go much further in your sport than others who only train the first two ways.

What does it mean to HAVE YOUR HEART IN YOUR TRAINING? It means that when you practice every day, you're doing it because YOU WANT TO! Because YOU LOVE IT!!! You're doing it because you have an EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING reason to train that day. You have something that you desperately want to achieve and this achievement has little to do with pleasing other people and most everything to do with YOU! To train EMOTIONALLY means that, as tough as practice is, and as much as you may be hurting, you want to be there and this desire is fueled by that important goal you're working towards.

Training EMOTIONALLY means that on a daily basis you remind yourself EXACTLY WHY you're doing what you're doing. Athletes who practice this way don't just go through the motions. They don't practice and wish they were elsewhere. They train with an internal sense of purpose that periodically asks them, "HOW IS WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW GOING TO HELP ME GET TO MY GOAL?" In this way, the quality of their training is consistently high because it's always goal directed and fueled by their emotions and desire.

Want to lift the level of your training? Then start adding YOUR PASSION to your training. Know exactly why you're out there today! Be sure you're training for YOU and that your efforts are directed towards something that is EMOTIONALLY IMPORTANT to you. And when you start to waiver, get tired or begin to drift off, ask yourself that question: "HOW IS WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW, GOING TO HELP ME GET TO MY DREAM?"        

Copied from Dr. G’s blog at www.competitivedge.com

Dr. Alan Goldberg, internationally known sports psychology consultant and director of Competitive Advantage specializes in helping athletes across all sports at every level, bust slumps and overcome performance fears and blocks. Dr. G's website,http://www.competitivedge.com offers thousands of pages of FREE resources including mental toughness questionnaires for athletes, parents and coaches, articles on every aspect of coaching and parenting in youth sports, as well as a mental toughness blog.