I was watching Dancing On Ice (yes, quality tv) at the weekend, and Beth Tweddle (Olympic bronze medallist gymnast) was reflecting on the previous week, where she had ‘lost’ a head to head ‘duel’. “Olympic Medallists don’t win by being negative”. That statement hit me like a punch in the gut.
Of course they don’t. Because if you’re being negative, you won’t put the effort in to train…why would you bother? If you’re being negative, you won’t do whatever it takes…why would you bother? If you’re being negative, you’ll be easily psyched out by your opponents. If you’re being negative, you’ll become hesitant and not push yourself to be the best.
When it comes to Olympic Athletes, this is obvious. A strong positive mental attitude is a clear key characteristic of an Olympic Medallist – in most interviews with medallists, they mention their positive mental attitude…sometimes it is very obvious that their towering self-confidence is a huge benefit to them (Usain Bolt springs to mind!)
And particularly with Winter Olympians, that positive mental attitude and self belief is essential – whenever you add ice, snow, blades, speed and athletic events together, negativity becomes physically dangerous! In just a few days of Winter Olympic highlights I’ve seen several falls that look really very painful – if you’re going to go downhill with planks strapped to your feet, and jump and twist in the air…negativity, fear and lack of self-belief could be lethal.
For most of us, our goals are not that physically demanding or dangerous. But they are as mentally demanding. Going after a life you want is difficult. Especially if you have fears, doubts and negativity pulling you away from your ‘gold medal’. You need that PMA – you need strong self-belief, positivity and fire in your belly!
It’s like driving a car – having a strong goal, a positive attitude, self-belief and confidence gives you acceleration…negativity, doubt, fear, lack of self-belief all put the brakes on. So sometimes you are just burning rubber without going anywhere because you’ve got your foot to the floor…but you’ve also got the handbrake on AND your other foot firmly on the brake.
It’s not easy to get that positive mental attitude. It’s not easy to build your self-belief. It takes discipline, focus and time. But it is so worth it. And like any exercise, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Also, you don’t have to get up at 4am, pull on several layers of clothing and go practice on ice or snow (brrrrrr!), so you have it comparatively easy!
How do you cultivate a positive mental attitude? Well, there are hundreds of articles and ideas about how to do it – here’s an article I found on Auntie Google which sums it up pretty well – my favourite tip of his is number one: remember you are powerful. It’s all in your hands – suck it up Princess, and get working on taking your foot off the brake so you can really accelerate and go for Gold!
Love
Donna.x