Focus on What you Want

I remember back in 1984 when I was training for the National Touch Titles and my trainer gave me a sheet of paper faced down. As he handed them around to the selection squad of 20 team members he said ‘when you turn this sheet over and read it, it will change the way you see things, not only on the sports field, but also in your life’. My initial reaction was… ‘What has this got to do with training for the National Titles?’ Maybe I heard him wrong (my inner voice said) as I could feel the excitement rise telling myself ‘It may be a new tactical play’ (which was what I loved creating and making happen). I then turned the paper over and much to my surprise I read these words…

The Winner’s Creed

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you won’t.

If you like to win, but think you can’t.

It’s almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.

For out in the world we find,

success begins with a person’s will –

it’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are.

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself

Before you can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

to the stronger or faster person.

But sooner or later the person who wins

is the one who thinks they can.

- Unknown -

I looked up at the trainer and he said… ‘You have trained your body, it is even more important to train your mind and to think like winners’. That was the start of my introduction to the psychology of winning and the power of the mind. That sheet of paper handed to me 24 years ago was one of the first major turning points in my life to which I share this same philosophy with many people I work with.

It is as simple as… ‘what you focus on in life – is what you will create’. Creating a positive and healthy mindset is so important to support you in attracting what you want in life. Observe how often you catch yourself talking or complaining to others about what you don’t want to happen or what has happened. Do you resolve it or do you find yourself repeating the same pattern.

As you move through your day you are constantly talking to yourself, whether you are aware of this or not. You are constantly telling yourself what you think, and feel about your experiences and interactions. These self-statements are absorbed and retained by your subconscious mind for future use. They form powerful directives that are subliminally put into action.

If you tell yourself, ‘I am successful’, then the message you are passing on to your body is ‘be successful’. Your subsconscious mind does not interpret this as, ‘he/she really does not know what he/she is talking about! It responds literally to the directive it receives from the conscious mind. In turn, the message the body receives is, ‘be successful’!

Words trigger off powerful associative images, especially if they are backed up by strong emotive feelings. Whether they are favorable or unfavorable it is taken in as truth. How you communicate with yourself determines your outcome.

In the computer world there is a saying ‘garbage in, garbage out’. The same applies to your mind. Quality input = quality output. You deserve the best. Be the guard of your mind and play ‘positive FM – not negative FM’.

Think about what it is you want to attract in your life and hold onto that vision with unshakeable faith. Take small achievable steps towards your vision and acknowledge yourself along the journey. Remember that the fullest contentment and enjoyment is in the journey – not the destination.

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‘A person cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.                      – James Allen -

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