Anyone can be happy, whether it’s through
work, sport or relationships. The secret? It’s all in your mind, discovers
Amanda Khouv…
Positivity, mental tough ness and
perseverance are all qualities you might attribute to someone like a successful
athlete, but they can also help you to succeed in all aspects of life.
According to The 12 Hidden Laws Of Performance, by top performance coach Donald
MacNaughton, there are 12 simple steps to ‘winning at life’, as well as sport.
He should know, having coached several champions to glory. WF takes a look at
Donald’s 12 steps to living a happy, successful life.
- Find your passion
It’s all about loving what you do. The path
to reaching your goal, whatever it may be, probably isn’t an easy one, so in
order to stay motivated enough to commit to achieving it, you have to be
passionate about it. It might help to surround yourself with a core team of
supportive people – such as your parents, boyfriend or colleagues – who will
inspire you to keep pushing forwards day in, day out.
- Create your own positive vibes
Ever heard anyone refer to feeling a ‘vibe’
when entering a room? ‘All your senses generate their own unique vibrations, so
your own thoughts, words, actions, and beliefs are responsible for the vibe you
feel when you’re alone,’ says Donald. This vibe is generated in your own mind,
which means that it’s well within your control – you just need to visualize
your goal and think positively about it. This will encourage you to act
positively, allowing you to focus on your goal.
- Take actions
‘I’ll start my diet tomorrow.’ ‘I’ll have
that chat with my boss next week.’ Do these sort of phrases sound familiar to
you? An action plan is necessary, of course, but as Donald puts it, success =
intention + focused action… not just intention! Are you really in it to win it?
Is there enough driving you to see this through to the end? If so, it’s time to
start reaching for the stars, rather than just looking at them.
- Think like a winner
Too many people focus on what they can’t
do, rather than what they can. This is an important habit to shake, as whatever
you believe yourself to be can affect the person you become. Feeling confident
in your abilities allows you to put more effort into honing them, but if you
put your successes down to luck rather than your own doing, you could miss the
really great opportunities in life.
- Earn your reward
There was a time when we thought we were
doing a good thing by slogging away for hours on end in our running shoes… That
was before we discovered high-intensity interval training. In less than half
the time, we could get huge results. This law shares a similar outlook: quality
trumps quantity almost all the time, so make sure you’re completely dedicated
in your efforts in order to reap the benefits faster.
- Give it your best effort
It’s simple really. If you put in a
half-hearted effort, you’ll get a half-hearted result. Paula Radcliffe would
never have snatched that marathon world record without the hours of training
she put in. In other words, for something good to happen, you have to give it
every opportunity to happen.
- Be a magnet for success
In the same way that thinking positively
leads to acting positively, negativity attracts negativity. Optimism is key,
but it’s not enough just to say positive things, you need to truly believe them
and act on them. Your belief should be so strong that even a group of a
thousand disbelievers could not stop you from becoming the best version of
yourself.
- Champions embrace change
Nothing is ever certain in life, but the
trick is not to fear the unknown. ‘Fear can paralyze you and it can prevent you
from making the changes you need to make to progress,’ explains Donald. Ensure
you don’t send yourself into a downward spiral; build on what you do
know, improve your skills and believe in change for the better, so you’re
prepared for anything. Don’t see any feelings of self-doubt as a setback. Just
carry on where you left off.
- Keep your performance in perspective
No one but you can decide whether something
is a failure or a success. Winning silver at the Olympics would generally be
viewed as a huge success, but the athlete who’s trained for months to get there
may view it as a failure for missing out on gold. Simply put, everything is
relative to your goals. Stay in tune with reality, but know that your reality
is created by you.
- You have to know failure to know
success
You can only recognize success if you can
compare it to failure. At different times in your life it may seem that you
experience one much more than the other, but if and when failure occurs, keep
in mind which of your physical, psychological, tactical and technical skills
you’ll need to shift yourself towards success. A taste of failure make success
all the more sweet.
- Accept the rough with the smooth
The road to your goal won’t always be plain
sailing. Hiccups along the way can be compared to the ‘five stages of grief’
often associated with sports injuries: denial, anger, bargaining, depression
and acceptance. You know you’ll end up at the acceptance stage anyway, so why
not save yourself some time? Take a fast track straight there and get working
on your comeback.
- Believe in yourself as a champion
Make choices that bring about success, and
remember that whatever your final goal is, the journey is every bit as
important as the end result. No one is just born successful, but those who can
strengthen their minds can make themselves successful.
