Mental skills in athletes

¿DO YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER YOUR THOUGHTS?

I've always been a believer of mental power. Definitely, people who have control over their mind have the ability to reach for the stars, and my willingness to be one of them got me to write a phrase in my arm that reminds me every single day when I wake up that I am the sole owner my thoughts.

Some time ago I took a piece of paper with a quote from one of my best friends wallet –just after he passed away- that said:

"I can get anything that my mind is able to conceive and believe, anything..."

At the time I read it, I remember that I felt a huge admiration after realizing that my lifelong friend used techniques that helped him to keep a positive and focused mind.

At a professional level, many athletes receive assistance from motivators and psychologists to win their competitions before they start. That’s why it is very important for people who reach a certain level of competency in sports to understand that mental skills become as important to performance as physical skills, if not more so. Just like we spend hours of training to our physical preparation, we must devote time to the most important and powerful muscle all athletes have and which I'm sure not many care about: THE BRAIN.

In the discipline of Kyokushin Karate, before and after each class we have a moment in which we kneel with an upright posture closing our eyes to meditate (in Japanese it is called MOKUSO) and breathe properly, relaxed. This is an effective way to go back to a fearless state of mind away of distractions that restrict our movements.

All the times I’ve had to teach class, I tell my students the importance of focusing and clearing their minds so they can fill them with positive thoughts that will improve their performance during the workout.

I'm sure that if we all spend about 10 minutes in this exercise in your workouts, you would IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE. Remember that this is a process that takes time, mind control requires concentration and the will to achieve it.

Try it; there is much to gain and nothing to lose.

Remember that positive thoughts bring positive results.

#english