Is it the talent, the will of the mind or the environment? The most honest answer is all of them, but without any doubt, our mind is the driving force. Whoever got the talent, the perfect environment and lacks the mindset is limited. The one who got the right mindset is limitless!
Here are 5 principles that characterise the mindset of a champion.
1. High aspiration
First of all, you have to aim high, to reach high. A champion dreams only of the first place, not the second, not the third. Everything he strives for is to be the best in his/her field.
The most important value of a champion and essentially the first phase to reach success is to believe that he/she can be the best, visualise his/her dream becoming true and go for it.
The second phase is to make a plan. The plan is to divide the dream into manageable, rational stages and progressively conquer these stages one by one, whether they are improvements on physical capacity, changes in personal life or smaller less significant achievements.
Little by little, a little becomes a lot!
2. Willingness to learn
The secret is to never stop learning, to be able to understand what went wrong, what needs to be improved and be eager to work hard to improve it.
A champion is an eternal student.
Aways keeps improving!
Always takes advantage of any feedback, positive or negative!
Always listens to what the world has to say, filters and keeps those that motivate him/her to improve!
3. Resilience
The path to success is tough and full of barriers, everyone fails before they succeed. There will be ups and downs that will make us hesitate and become unsure of our capabilities.
A champion has the mental strength to believe in himself/herself under the most difficult circumstances, rely on the work he/she has done, stay confident and overcome the obstacles that come in the way.
Every failure makes a champion stronger and wiser!
4. Consistency and commitment
You are not born a champion, you transform into one on the way. Each day is a struggle to become better and better mentally and physically. A champion has made this commitment, that he will be the best no matter the cost.
Will he/she have to sacrifice time; Yes.
Will he/she have to spend huge amounts of energy; Yes, again.
Will he/she have to set his personal and social life as a second priority. Some times, unfortunately, yes.
But the commitment a champion makes to achieve his/her goals is sacred!
5. Team and coachability
Champions need to surround themselves with people who share the same goals with them. Us humans are social species, we need the support, we need the reinforcement, we need comradery in order to move forward. The best motivation that an athlete can have is a team that will teach him all he/she needs to know about his/her profession, that will provide the necessary feedback for him/her to excel and succeed, that will be there for him when he/she needs them the most.
A champion knows that “If you want to walk fast, you walk alone, but if you want to walk far, you walk together” (Ratan Tata)
So there you have it, it is not that much the physical capabilities that will lead someone to success rather than the awareness of what it takes to get there and the effort he/she is willing to put to make it happen.
