The following post is an excerpt from Emotional Aptitude In Sports NOW available through most online retailers! Click Here to Order
After reading this book, it is my hope that you, the athlete, understand a simple concept- to strengthen emotional aptitude, you must take deliberate customized action and set aside time to focus on improving yourself each and every day. Not just improving your game …Not just improving your swing… But improving yourself, which is the essence of emotional stability.
Simply improve yourself… And your game will improve.
Most athletes live in their “Comfort Zone” – doing what everyone else appears to be doing, playing it safe, not taking risks or sticking to the road of least resistance. I urge you to leave that false belief system and venture into the “Learning Zone” – doing what’s uncomfortable, choosing the unknown and often more difficult path, trying methods that are new to you or exploring new ideas. If you read this book and then return only to your old, comfortable training methods, it is unlikely your will get the results you are capable of achieving.
Each section of this book, from the solutions to the story telling, is essentially assisting you in doing something extremely difficult … and that something is change. I’m not talking about changing your equipment, your environment or your coaches, I’m talking about changing your routines and rituals. Many athletes may say they want to improve but their words do not match their actions.
To improve you must be WILLING to acquire new routines and rituals and to be DISCIPLINED with their implementation.
Any great coach knows that an athlete’s rituals predicts their success or failure.
In storytelling, it is my intention to invoke an emotional response which leads to resourcefulness.
That’s why the experiences of the twins; Evan and Jarrod, resonate. Their opinions connect because their stories are all too familiar. Even though their comments represent both positive and negative points of view, their voices are a call to action.
I’d like to offer a warning for those not quite ready to commit to self-improvement. Please don’t expect your results to dramatically change without transforming your emotional aptitude.
Self-discipline is doing what needs to be done, even if you don’t want to do it.
For those of you who are ready to make emotional aptitude improvements a priority, congratulations, you are on the road to making your dreams a reality. Commit to the process and begin organizing your customized action plan. Each day specify the time needed to begin your metamorphosis.
Dabbling here and there in the developmental process is procrastination and is not a proactive life skill. Maximizing potential begins with maximum commitment.
Recognize that change can be uncomfortable and painful in the beginning. It may even be chaotic and stressful in the thick of it. But change is incredibly rewarding and oh so sweet in the end.
