#5 The Mindset

 Navy S.E.A.L.s teach the 40% rule: when your mind tells you that you are exhausted, you are, in reality, a mere 40% done. This simple fact can consciously override the body’s desire to give up. The power of the brain is much greater than the power of the body. A student-athlete that can utilize this tool will thrive.
            Not only the conscious mind can overpower the body. The unconscious mind is even more capable of overriding the body. The unconscious mind is the driving force behind a mother’s strength when her children are in danger. It is powerful enough to remember events that have long been forgotten in the conscious mind. It can fabricate simulations of possible futures and allow the conscious mind to prepare for future challenges; aka dreams. This part of the brain is unmatched in strength.
            But what does this have to do with going to school or playing a sport? A good mindset can make a student-athlete grow exponentially in their craft.

Here are the some mindset tricks:

You are privileged: If you can tell yourself that what you are doing is a privilege for either the skill you acquire from it or simply for having the opportunity you will get the most out of everything you do and you will love what you do even if you are cleaning a toilet.
You are the lucky one: This one is a cheap one. When your day gets hard and you feel tired, remember that there are people in the military who are being screamed at and torn down mentally, physically, and emotionally. What is so hard for you? I guarantee your teachers and coaches are all trying to help you succeed and will go out of their way to offer help. That does not fly in the military, so you have it easy, even on your worst day. How is that for a perspective? This trick works for more than thinking about the military. There are always people working harder and going through worse situations than you.
You should be setting records: If the only thing you are striving to be better than is the grad point above yours, the next opponent, your rival, etc. then you will only ever become as good as they are. The sky is the limit. Aim for it!!! Be the valedictorian. Be the best. What is stopping you from setting records? We run through lines not to lines.
Expect perfection: Aim small, miss small right? No one is perfect but why not try to be. What’s the worst that can happen, you fail? We all do that, so why don’t you try to fail a little less and not nearly as bad? Learn from those failure and don’t let them happen again. Never make the same mistake twice and eventually you won’t be making many mistakes at all.
Desire growth: Almost all the other mindset tricks can boil down to this one. This, although the hardest, is a huge key to success. Make everything you do an opportunity to grow physically, mentally and emotionally. Find the lessons you learn and learn them. Understand what you can get out of each challenge or even, hell, especially your routine, daily tasks.

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