The Mind Game

1. The Mind Game

2. Showing off UK - Bragging, arrogance, conceit, big-headedness, inflated self-importance USA - Make the most of every situation to show what you can do, practice and game Show off your talent at its best If you’re not ready to show off all that you can do, then why show up? Why practise, why play the game?

3. Why do it? You do it because it is in your own best interests You do it to get what you want, enjoyment and the good feeling at being good at something To get praise from peersand adults To be the best that you can be It works best if you can do it so that your club, coach, team-mates, etc. also get what they want Find the best way to get what you want while it allows others to get what they want ( team game )

4. Go for the dreamReach for the Sun Is there something that you would really like to do or make of yourself but others say that you’re dreaming, it will never happen? Don’t be put off – give it a go Don’t fall into the trap of wanting to be sure that it will work before trying it If you have regrets when you finish your career, they are more likely to be about what you didn’t do rather than what you did do Don’t just talk about how good you are, do it !

5. Let go of the baggage If you are not where you want to be in life or you haven’t got what you want, it’s probably because you haven’t let go of something that is in your way, something taking up space It could be barriers/limits that you have got used to You moan about them but you’ve become attached to them You have to let go You’re safe in the harbour but you’ll never discover the new world if you don’t leave

6. Don’t disappoint Do what you say you’ll do, deliver the goods, every time Build a reputation for rock solid consistency Amateurs work until they get it right, professionals work until they can’t get it wrong Think of someone who is completely dependable, if they are given a task then it will be done They are the Gold Standard You want to be the Gold Standard

7. Could do, should do,might do Stop talking about what you could do, should do, might do – just do it Get in the damn boat and go – leave the harbour Trust your own judgement and get on with it Be the person who finds solutions and creates opportunities, not the one who says it can’t be done If you act and fail then you will learn from your experience and improve

8. Mistakes Accept that you will make some mistakes The important thing is how you react and deal with them Learn from them, adapt to the next idea To be successful, you need to be willing to fail Mistakes won’t kill you, complacency will Let your Coach help you to cope with failure

9. He who’s not busy being born is busy dying No matter how good you are now, you can always get better Be busy at seeking relentless improvement, stay curious, want to learn If you don’t keep up, you’ll get left behind If you reach a plateau in your work then you’ll do the same today as you did yesterday and get the same result

10. Work close to the edge For relentless improvement you need to be close to the edge not stuck in the comfortable, coasting position If you start to think that you know it all, you’ve done it all before, you’ve nothing new to learn, then you are on the way to dinosaur state - stagnation, boring Be better tomorrow than you were today

11. There’s more thanone answer Be prepared to look at things differently You will see new options You will spot an opportunity where others won’t and that will give you the edge You will find solutions instead of excuses If you view a rainy day as a bad day then you are writing off maybe 100 days or more per year It is not the weather that makes it a good or bad day – it’s you

12. Ideas Keep your eyes and mind open Every place is an ideas factory The very best and most effective ideas are often counter-intuitive To excel and become the best that you can be, you need to be able to adapt Seek improvement through innovation

13. The perfect game You have your view of your perfect game but what if you arrive and the pitch is poor ( bumpy, muddy ) The game that you planned doesn’t happen and you blame the pitch It is not about the pitch, it’s about you Instead of thinking negatively about the pitch, think positively about the challenge to you to adapt your game It is never the pitch

14. Attitude What happens to you is meaningless unless you assign some meaning to it Your view is your reality Attitude is how you look at the world If your attitude isn’t working then get another one. Think differently. Think positively and try something else If you don’t like what you’re doing then change what you’re doing

15. Be prepared to change the way you think If you only think one way and it is not working then you can say that you tried your best, blame someone else because you did your bit If you change and look for different ways then you are still in control Let go of the feeling that you are a victim of circumstances, bad luck– take charge If you try a lot of different things, some will work and some won’t. There will be failure. That’s OK You are not looking at the world in that singular way any more. It is never the pitch

16. Past successes Your past success can be a hindrance to new ideas You may need to let go of what made you successful in the past to gain further success in the future You need a balance to keep hold of tradition but to move on and stay ahead of the wave Challenge your usual, successful processes to keep up-to-date, to keep fresh Tomorrow’s reality will require new solutions and will create new opportunities.

17. Think inside and outside the box As well as thinking ‘outside the box’, don’t lose sight of the basic elements which can also be improved Sometimes you need to get back IN the box Cover both areas, be both the tortoise and the hare Look to innovate while continuing to improve core issues As well as working on your poor areas, you can also improve what you’re good at

18. Expectation Expect to connect, aim to improve Work with attention and intention Is the intention just to get through the day or to make it count for something? Pay attention to detail, the small things count

19. Go all in In poker, ‘going all in’ means betting everything – a metaphor for depth of commitment Lower league teams can beat higher placed teams when their players ‘go all in’ Go all in to be the best at what you do Why would you not want to go all in?

20. Be yourself Can you be extraordinary at what you do and do it with understated class? Learn from other people, but don’t try to be other people, be yourself Always keep the end result in your sights, the bottom line is to get the job done If what you’re doing makes you happy then there’s more chance that you’ll be good at it

21. Accept the cards you’ve been dealt Things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be – they are the way they are The way you deal with it makes the difference Accept that awkward things happen, it’s normal Then you’ll be better equipped and prepared to handle them, to minimise damage, to correct the problem or to create an opportunity from the problem John Milton – The mind is its own place and can make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven

22. Communication Share your true feelings Be truthful about what you want from people – tell them Sharing ideas, bouncing opinions off others can be stimulating and stop you getting stale because it challenges your own thinking

23. Yes men Value friends/colleagues who make you think, who have a different perspective and who are not afraid to disagree and tell you so Opening your mind to someone else’s idea doesn’t mean you have to accept it Build from knowledge, experience and debate - not assumptions Only fools and dead men don’t change their minds

24. Uncertainty Uncertainty is endemic. Don’t be frozen by uncertainty, can you move forward with the limited information? If you cannot move forward, can you maintain stability? To create stability you need to maintain your values while constantly changing to meet the needs of today and tomorrow, not yesterday Think of someone who kicks up a fuss when something unexpected happens. In contrast, who do you know who relishes the challenge, adds the new situation to the list of things that already need doing? This type of person is so valuable to the team It’s not about knowing what’s going to happen next, but being okay with knowing that whatever happens next, you can handle it

25. From Ignorance to Expert Ignorant – isn’t being stupid, being inexperienced With more and more experience we head towards expert status Maybe we think we know it all until things go wrong We must stay hungry to learn, wanting to know more Open up to new ideas by letting go of preconceived notions, stereotypes, prejudices and supposed facts that are really just assumptions Things change, you change, be curious about how you’ve changed. Give change a chance

26. Taking responsibility Take responsibility for your life Don’t leave it to someone else to make your decisions It’s your life, you are in charge, you make the decisions You take ownership What you’ve done is who you are, what you plan to do is who you can be

27. Have a clear philosophy Regularly check that your actions are in line with your aims If your actions and aims are in conflict then your performance will suffer Announce your principles and values and stick to them. They will be your compass to keep your plans on track Keep the integrity and clarity of your values It gives your club its DNA, its culture, its way and gives you a personal mission statement

28. Targetsnot too low Have you set yourself easily achievable limits on who you are or who you can be? Are you playing it safe, thinking too small and taking the path of least resistance You need to be challenged If you don’t take chances, the price is boredom Find a way to add some life and energy to your work, it will give your work more purpose “ It will do ”, won’t do

29. Targetsnot too high Don’t promise more than you can deliver Broken promises are stupid promises Get yourself a reputation as someone who delivers You will be viewed as someone who does what he says he will do – an achiever Be an achiever

30. Personal Targets and Action Plan