Have you ever taken time to think about the mindset you want in your next match?
And when I say think…I mean REALLY think. I mean REALLY REALLY think.
Do it now. Create a pitch in your mind. Put yourself on it…with your team mates…with an opposition. And play!
What does an outstanding mindset look like? Feel like? I ask you for the look and feel of your mindset because you can literally see it…and you can literally feel it. You can see focus and you can see distraction. You can see bravery and boldness. You can see confidence and commitment and control. You can feel intensity and you can feel engagement. You can feel presence and perseverance. You can feel attitude, action and aggression.
What does your very best mindset look like? What does your very best mindset feel like?
Now, why do I ask you to do this? Because the inner images that have just been injected into your private world can act as a blueprint to create what I call a ‘Mindset Statement’. What’s this/ As the name suggests, it’s a simple statement of intent related to the kind of mindset you want to embody and display during your next performance. It’s the kind of focus you want to have, the type of confidence you want to play with, and the quality of personal control you want to enlist.
I’ve helped a lot of very good soccer players develop their own personal ‘Mindset Statements’ over the past fifteen years. Allow me to give you a few examples that really help bring this alive for you:
“When I play soccer I’m my best mindset. My confidence is contagious and my focus is pinpoint. I execute every run, every motion, every action, every movement with sharpness…alert, alive and lively. Nothing and no-one takes me away from my very best mindset.”
“On match day I play sharp, on my toes and confident. I am vocal because this keeps me switched on and helps me be a great team mate. If I lose my intensity I spot it quickly and pick it back up within seconds by shifting my body language.”
You see, I want every footballer to have a great mindset. I want every footballer to be a student of mindset. I want every footballer to grow their mindset. I want every football to develop a bullet-proof mindset. Because I know when footballers become this passionate about mindset…then they become the very best they can be. It really is as simple as that.
This ‘Mindset Statement’ is an example of the dozens of techniques, strategies and tools I have in my books and in my Soccer Academy.