We are born to win!
Part 1: The fighter in you!
Life is like a boxing match! Defeat is declared not when you fall, but when you refuse to stand up again!
Kristen Ashely
In sports as in life, some win, and there are some that loose.
Most of us have our share of both. Others, the champions, win more than they lose. The losers lose more than they win.
Who chooses who wins or who loses? I guess we do! And the difference is how much training, discipline, and sacrifice we are willing to endure to succeed.
What does it take?
Winners in sports are some of the best examples for the amount of work, discipline, and dedication that is needed to be the best.
Let’s take boxing as an example. As a boxer, you need to love boxing because it is hard work. Sometimes you get injured and getting punched repeatedly at the head is not a joke.
For professionals, it is a grueling regime, “camp” training is designed to push a boxer to his limits and are aimed at three different levels of fighters. Likewise, we have three degrees in society-average, under average and above average.
The first level of the camp is for novices, to train them in the basics and move them up toward world rankings. Some move up, some stay there, never making it higher; it is difficult, and a life of ease can be more attractive; thus, they stay average or below average.
If you are willing, there is always a price to pay for success:
Level two boxers, who understand the cost and have mastered the fundamentals, spend time drilling the sport into their minds and souls until it becomes second nature.
They understand the laws of boxing and are willing to pay the price. They receive above average results for their efforts, and most reach their peak at this level.
Finally, the third camp is known as the reactivation level. Older boxers in their late 30’s and 40’s are being trained to reactivate the muscle memory, nerve impulses, and instincts responses which they maintained at their peak.
Before a fight, camps can last up from 8 to 12 weeks of intense training: consisting of well planned hard work, rest and conditioning, and strength, power, and technical exercises.
Camps are not for the weak. Bad days are usual, and you must come to work each day with a clear mindset.
In contrast:
Many of us go through the fight for our lives on earth, as if it is one big accident, with no plan, no discipline, no much preparation, with no will to make a win.
In the boxing world, to make it like a champion, you must be able to make it to week eight, which is the most difficult and the tipping point for most boxers.
You go through all those weeks of training, away from home, on a controlled diet, working extremely hard, and with such a regime it is easy to become discouraged, lose your enthusiasm and start to doubt yourself.
You need to be mentally stable, or you will crack and give up.
As in life, it is not just a physical fight, it is also a psychological one, and you need to train and be mentally prepared for it.
Mental strength is the cornerstone for success:
Not only in boxing but for any athlete’s journey and life in general.
Physical power is easy to track, but much more difficult is to follow a boxer’s mental strengths, such as resilience and courage.
Thus, the need for the coach to be aware and asses the mental strength and weakness of the boxer is essential, and sometimes psychologists are needed to equip the fighter with the spiritual tools he needs to improve his performance.
Since 1920, first the Russians, then the Americans started to include psychology in their training programs. By 1960 it began to catch on in Europe.
In sports, to win, the athlete needs to be in an excellent physical and mental condition. Besides a healthy and active body, they need self-esteem, control of anxiety levels, attention, imagination, motivation, stress managing abilities; goal setting is a must and plays a significant role in a winners mentality.
Goals are important!
As in the fight of real-life and success, training starts with goal setting. The goals must be achievable and measurable, and time frames are also important.
To achieve a goal, you must stay focused on the goal-setting process and its achievement.
Boxers, as people in real life, must be very clear in their minds: what their goal is and how to achieve. Whether that be speed for a boxer or better work ethics for you, one needs a specific plan which addresses how to accomplish that.
Visualization of your goals:
Boxers see themselves in the best possible condition. They feel the moment of victory with their five senses.
They see the lights in the ring, hear the crowd, they visualize the fight as to how they want to fight it, with emotion. When you connect your mind, your body follows.
Your mind and brain are like a computer; you can learn to control the way you think if you do it often, your thoughts get used to it, it memorizes the results you want, then when it happens in real life your brain is already comfortable with the results.
Why some do, and other’s don’t?
In life, on many occasions, there are people with the same background, education, intelligence, and ability…yet some become winners and others losers, why?
A lot has to do with the mental abilities, attitudes, habits, choices, and ability to control your mind (as the old saying goes: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he).
In part 2 and 3 of this article, we will describe the qualities of both the winner and the loser.
As you read, analyse your own attitude, habits and the choices you make daily, see where you fit and ask for the wisdom to change the things that need to change in your own life, leave the ones that are working well and have the understanding to know the difference between your illusion and your reality.
Mental strength :
For a boxer or any athlete, mental toughness is a cornerstone for success, and for us in real life, it is the same!
Rocky Marciano, was one of the greatest boxers of all times, unique in that he never lost a fight. His record was 49–0, forty-three by knockout.
He said: “You believe in yourself and you believe in the things you got to do. You never forget them for a minute. Then you go there, and you think of what you had to do and go through to get there, and you say to yourself: It was worth it!”
Before he died, he said: You are not in the ring to demonstrate your courage, you are in the ring to win.
To win, you need to conquer your fears!
Part 2: The loser!
Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose Lyndon B Johnson
.
His mind is uncontrolled and undisciplined, and he doesn’t even realize it! He gives in to negative thoughts regularly and allows fears to cloud his thinking!
He shows a brave face, but lives in fear and cannot think properly due to continually giving in to negative emotions.
At home he sits on the sofa, with a beer in his hand, watching endless hours of TV. It doesn’t matter what it is: he allows the constant flow of negativity to fill his mind and do the thinking for him.
He doesn’t choose what to think; he doesn’t want to accept reality and is almost convinced that he cannot be happy or successful in life.
His will power has become so weak, that he accepts whatever life throws at him, without putting up a fight!
The Ideas of others very easily dissuade him. He has very few opinions that are his own. He has become lazy and comfortable in his sorry state of mind and being.
He has no clue what he wants in life. His wasted days become months and then years. He reasons that maybe his inherited genes passed on to him by parents and relatives are the reason for his misfortune. He thinks of many other ideas and concludes that it is not his fault.
He feels discouraged! He has no self-confidence. Has lost his enthusiasm and has given up and is now trapped in the vicious cycle of just existing.
In such a state, he gives in quickly to fear, superstition, greed, lust, revenge, anger, pride, and laziness. He stops trying. He stops learning; he stops thinking in constructive terms. Neither he cares, always looking for the easy way out, the quick fix.
Vice becomes a way of life, drinking, and smoking in excess. He feels mentally ill and gives in to depression and becomes dependent on doctors and medicines; this breaks down his power of persistence, and he loses his ability to concentrate or focus on the things that matter. One bad habit leads to another, so he becomes tangled in a web of his vices.
In marriage, he is continually fighting. The main reason for arguments is always financial. He shows little respect, he argues, he gets angry. He fights and hurt others, gives in to lying, and still has an excuse as to why things are not as it ought to be.
If he works, he does whatever he can find. He sees no purpose, has no aims except to survive and make a living. He has accepted poverty, and his quality of life decreases as he becomes more and more bound financially and psychologically.
Procrastination has now become his second name. There is always a reason why he cannot do what he is supposed to do.
Everyone is to blame, except himself.
Instead of mastering life, life has mastered him.
Without a lack of purpose in his life, he lacks power and initiative, so he continually takes the path of less resistance. Now he has a bad character gets angry quickly and has little control over his emotions.
He raises his voice and even screams at people and children as he gets easily frustrated. He has developed an ability to see the bad in every person and situation.
He is a jack of all trades, but master of none. He has a difficult time working in cooperation with others and repeatedly makes the same mistakes over and over; he has become intolerant and cruel.
Always expecting something from others, but unwilling to give and share. Starts many things but finishes nothing. Criticizes, without providing solutions, cannot make decisions, often is envious of those that succeed.
He is a master of instant gratification and readily spends the little he earns. He is usually in debt as he has no financial plans and gives in to excesses of food, alcohol, and other vices that cause friction and problems at home and work.
He lives as if life is a big accident, never sitting down to decide what he wants from life and how to go about obtaining it.
He has not learned from his mistakes, nor does he wants to.
His blindness to his situation is the very thing that keeps him trapped in it.
Without definite purpose, he is afraid of taking risks, nor does he have a desire to break free from his indifference towards life. He has fears, so his worries come upon him.
He fails to understand that his outside world is an exact reflection of his inside world.
Part 3: The winner!
Being a winner is never an accident; winning comes around by determination and decisive action.
Bob Proctor
He has a well-organized plan. He is in control of his mind and thoughts. He radiates love, faith, optimism, and a positive attitude towards life, and this ultimately leads to success.
He has developed the ability to think for himself and see problems as a challenge, rather than a curse. His faith unlocks the prison doors of his mind, and he lives free from fears.
He thinks in practical terms with faith, courage, love, hope, and purpose. He knows what he wants and is determined to get it.
He has goals in life and is determined to reach them. You can recognize him: The tone of his voice, the quickness of his step, the sparkle in his eyes. The surety of his decision making shows that he knows what he wants, no matter what is the price to pay.
He gives direct answers, helps others along, and leads the way and honestly admits his mistakes and doesn’t blame others for his misfortune but takes full responsibility for his life.
He takes from life, but also gives and shares. He is recognized, respected, and admired and is an inspiration to all.
Every time he fails, he refuses to give up, he fights! He tries again as he understands that every failure has the seeds for future successes.
He puts money in its proper place and never above the other qualities of character. He is an expert in long-time gratification and is willing to sacrifice today for a better future tomorrow. He doesn’t overindulge in food, drink, or money; money is his slave, not his master.
He understands that he has but little control over most things in this life, except his ability to think. He has decided what he wants from life, has a plan in how to get it and will never accept defeat. He will make it or die trying!
He understands that he must give service to humanity before expecting to receive. He understands that his greatest asset is time; once wasted, he can never get it back, so he uses it wisely.
He does not give in to fear, but replace fears with faith and a positive outlook on life. He understands that either you master life or life masters you. He never accepts anything from an experience that he doesn’t want.
He has a definite purpose, makes decisions, and is ambitious in a positive way. He is human and gets discouraged, has fears and negative thoughts, but never allows them to become permanent.
Instead, he fixes permanent thoughts of success, and that is what he gets! He understands that life pays you precisely on your terms. He knows that deeds follow ideas, that thoughts ultimately manifest into the real world, so he controls his thoughts and determines what he wants from life.
He understands that his outside reality is always a reflection of his inner thoughts and that his life today is an exact reflection of the deeds and thoughts of yesterday!
Vitin Landivar
