Prior to this book, I was of the mindset that positive thinking, self affirmations, etc. were a load of crock. I would encounter hopeful and utterly clueless people who would blabber on about “no limits” and “whatever you set your mind to” as they floundered around in their lives with no focus or discipline and getting nothing accomplished.
This book changed my mind. Positive reinforcement, I realized, works — but not on its own. The author writes about coupling a positive self-image with disciplined mental focus and strategic physical training that enables you to acquire the physical skills necessary to succeed.
And I started thinking about some of my friends who are legitimate winners on local, regional, national, and even international levels. When we head to competitions or races together, I’ll hear the comment “I’ll probably win,” “I can get on the podium,” and other such statements. But you know the difference? These people know what obstacles to expect. They know the terrain, they know their competition, they know their own strengths and weaknesses, and they have spent the months leading up to the competition training their weaknesses and getting their physical skills and performance where they know it needs to be to win. And, of course, these friends tend to win.
That’s what this book teaches you. It teaches you how to believe in yourself, but it also teaches you how to form a strategy and lay the foundation for success. Two of my friends that I train with (an engaged couple) gave me this book as a birthday gift. They knew I’d been struggling in my own training, and that I felt like my mental game was off. After reading this book, I walked into a training session and mastered a skill I had wanted to get for 24 years. I did it by using the skills I learned in this book: visualizing each component of the movement, visualizing myself succeeding, but also knowing that I had all the necessary strength and power and flexibility to perform the movement. This mindset enabled me to go into the training session with confidence and emerge victorious.
This is a short book, under 200 pages, but it’s a bit of a long read because if you stop to think about how each chapter applies to your own life and your own goals, it’ll take some time. And it’s 100% worth the read.
Favorite quotes:
"Instead of setting a goal to win Ben should goal set to make the process of playing well his primary focus." p.12
"Praise good performances, and the good performances will repeat. If praising others becomes your habit, you will soon become surrounded by competent people who love to work with you." p.43
"If you goal set to move up to elite levels this year also ask yourself 'Who do I need to become along with what I need to accomplish for this to happen?'" p.50
"One mistake that many people make is to equate their worth as a person with whether they reach their goals or not." p.50
"An investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of imagery instructions on a simple motor skill accuracy task (putting a golf ball). Thirty college students were blocked on their putting ability and randomly assigned within blocks to one of three experimental conditions: (a) positive imagery, (b) negative imagery, and (c) control. Subjects in the two imagery conditions were given the identical instructions for imagining the backswing and putting stroke. In the positive imagery group, subjects imagined the ball going into the cup, while the subjects using negative imagery visualized the ball narrowly missing the cup. Subjects in the control group putted without instructions. On each of the six consecutive days, a 10-putt trial was conducted for each subject. There was a significant effect on performance. Analyses showed significant differences among all groups, with positive imagery showing the most improvement, the control group producing less, and the negative imagery resulting in performance deterioration." p.65
"Margaret Murdock rarely talked at all, at least not to me. If she did, it was to compliment other shooters on their performance. I wonder if she knew that every time she praised another shooter, she also improved her own chances of winning?" p.77
"If you have a bad shot do you focus on correcting it instead of getting angry at yourself?" p.78
"A golfer hits a good shot and says, 'Well, I guess I just got lucky that time.' When he hits a bad shot he says, 'Why do I always do that?' His Self-Image shrinks every time he repeats this kind of behavior. A better solution would be to say, 'What do I need to do to make that shot good?' if it is not good or 'That's a good shot. What did I do right?' if it is a good one." p.110
"You divide your year into quarterly sessions. ... During the first quarter of a training year, after you have just finished a needed rest from last season's competitions, evaluate your performance. ... During the second quarter, concentrate on conditioning. ... During the third quarter, you are ready for competition. ... During the fourth quarter, rest and reflect on how the season progressed. ... Do not make the mistake of omitting this step. You may think you can get a jump on your competition by training at this time, but chances are you will weaken yourself in the long run. Also, you need the time away from your sport to reflect on your goals, training methods, and concepts. It is during this period that you establish an outline for your training during the year." p.117
"I know, by referring the Performance Journal of my performers, how often they are practicing, how long the practice lasts, what went on in the training session or competition, what worked and what did not work, what the objective of each session was and if it was accomplished. I know what equipment was used, when a change in equipment occurred and the reason for the chance. I know what the competition results were, what the weather was like on the field and the start time of the event." p.120
"A Performance Journal, by my definition, has no reference to bad shots, bad experiences or poor performances. It is a Performance Journal, not a lack of Performance Journal." p.121
"If you have a problem that you cannot find a solution for, simply state, 'I'm looking for a solution to ...' and then describe the problem. Also, you should write down solutions to problems you learned today in this section. Continued reference to this portion of the Performance Analysis will reduce the chance that you will repeat an error." p.126
"In the Success Analysis section, write down anything you did well during a day of training. When you do this, you improve the probability that you will repeat the success." p.126