Mind Control - Gilbert

I put together a couple quotes from the book "Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Success"
by Gary Mack and David Casstevens that I pretty much live by. The book is about how to deal
with the mental side of sports rather than the physical side. This book really helped me become
the athlete I am today and I believe every athlete should read this book. My sophomore year with
baseball, I was a mental mess. I always carried my bad at bats to the next at bat and it ruined
me. I let my mind ruin my play. This continued into my junior hockey season. Whenever I would
mess up or have a bad shift, I would go nuts. I would become chippy and get very bad penalties
that hurt the team. About half way through the season, my summer league baseball coach
recommended for me to read this book. This helped me change my whole game. I now study
the game just as much as I practice the game. The important lessons that this book has taught
me is too always keep my head up and never get rattled, or else bad things will continue to
happen. Also I learned to truly play 100% is to know your strengthens and weakness. Know
where to improve but also know what you can contribute to help the team. I picked to do this
more on a mental aspect, rather than the physical aspect of the game because I believe our team
lacks some of this knowledge. With such a young team, we need to know that the mind is an
important factor to success.

Gilbert

Quotes

• "You have to train your mind like you train your body."

• "The mind works most effectively when you’re telling it what to do rather than what not to do."

• "Confidence comes from knowing you are mentally and physically prepared."

• "Learn to view pressure as a challenge to meet rather than a threat of defeat."

• "Successful athletes are able to control their emotions and behavior."

•  "Mentally tough athletes possess an inner strength. They often play their best when they’re      feeling their worst. They don’t make excuses."

• "You can’t control your performance until you are in control of yourself. What you’re  thinking.How you’re feeling. Most importantly, your physiology. Know your numbers and  your early warning signs."

• "You can’t perform well if you’re afraid of embarrassing yourself."

• "It’s important to look at yourself and identify your gremlins. In sports, as in life, the first step  to success is getting out of your own way."

• "Goals are dreams with time lines. Turn your vision into action with goal setting. Seek progress  rather than perfection."

• "Learn how to fail successfully. Hate to fail but never fear it. Learn to view failure as  feedback."

• "While a positive attitude doesn’t always work, a negative attitude almost always does."

• "It doesn’t take talent to hustle and work hard. Invest in yourself with a positive attitude and  “can-do” thinking."

• "At times we all get nervous and anxious. Learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable."

• "Use your breathing to focus your energy. Let your breath center your mind and body in the  present."

•  "If your mind starts to wander so will your performance. Keep your eyes centered on the target  and your mind set on the task at hand. Focus on the process and let go of the outcome."