Page 19 - FI Magazine

Athletes Change with Environment

As spectators of sports, we have all seen athletes from youth to professional ranks change their level of
play in competition depending on the environment. When the situation is suitable for a high level of
focus and mental demand, we’ve seen well-trained athletes rise to the occasion and perform at high
levels and do amazing things during competition. On the other hand, when the environment doesn’t
command that same mental demand and focus as a high level of competition environment does, we’ve
witnessed good athletes play down to low levels of competition and play as if their interest is
somewhere else at that moment ‘Never Never Land’ we call it, not being present at the moment.

Never Never Land is most often attended by all levels of athletes if they neglected the most important
and valuable training, mental and focused practice that separates good athletes from great athletes. In
competition, the great athletes will perform at a high level regardless of environment, degree of
competition; they have an understanding that sport is for them to perform at a high standard and
winning ingrained in mind, and performance is played over and over in mind like a re-runed movie.
Mental and focus training is competition within athletes the battle to always contribute more to the task
in terms of work ethic, precision in the details, and sustainable heart to succeed at every assignment
regardless of environment, competition is competition, and the standard chiseled in stone like the Ten
Commandments in the mind of great athletes.

Mental and Focus Training

Mental training is working on changing paradigms, having a positive attitude, thoughts, and working
deep in the subconscious mind to bring about successful results. Focus training is being present,
controlling emotions to stimulate power within, detailed on every task, and allowing subconscious
content to surface during competition. Both mental and focus training needs to be developed into a

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