“Ninety percent of the game is half mental” – Yogi Berra
Don’t try and do the math on that one; baseball personality Yogi Berra was well known for his seemingly nonsensical comments that quietly had some profundity behind them. In this particular quote he’s touching on what really is the biggest factor when it comes to conquering pretty much anything in life.
When you hear the term “mental toughness” you probably think of an athlete overcoming a massive adversity of some sort, which isn’t uncommon; athletes of all levels are great examples of mental toughness. But it’s fair to say that in anything in life, whether it be work, health, relationships, etc., everything is going to involve overcoming some mental adversities.
Would you like your pizza cut into four or eight slices?
A waitress once asked Berra if he wanted his pizza cut into four or eight slices, “four” he replied, “I don’t think I can eat eight”. If you’re squinting just a bit in puzzlement (and spare a thought for the waitress), don’t stress; Berra’s pithy comments were so famously odd, that they came to be called ‘Yogisms’.
But let’s look at this a bit deeper; obviously no matter if you cut the pizza into four or eight slices, it’s still the same size pizza. However by framing the pizza differently- that is, looking at the whole pizza and seeing only four pieces (rather than eight), you might be able to trick yourself into sitting down and actually consuming a whole pizza. Where if you had to look at, and physically pick up and eat eight slices, your brain might actually catch on that you’ve consumed one too many and it’s time to stop! Like anything in life, it’s all about the way you look at things.
Your body hears everything your mind says
You no doubt know that hanging around negative people will have a negative effect on your outlook on life. Similarly, if you’re left alone with just your thoughts, your thoughts will have a large bearing on whether you see challenges in a positive or a negative light.
This is true for both the mental and physical dilemmas we all face in life. We’re not saying that walking around with a stupid grin on your face will make everything easy, but framing challenges in the right way can change things fundamentally for the better.
Think of whenever you see kids playing outside, climbing trees, jumping off things and generally taking risks us walking-dead wouldn’t dream of. Sure, kids are made largely out of rainbows and rubber bands, so physically they are at an advantage. But the way they view the challenge of these feats is intrinsically different.
While you or I might look down from that high tree branch and think “What if I break both my ankles and can’t work for the next year?” A kid is most likely to be thinking “What if I jump off this tree and stick the landing with a sweet dive roll? I bet that would feel awesome!” Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing the perspective on that “What if?” Instead of worrying “What if I fail?”, start wondering if “What if I succeed?”. That should help you visualise positive results and give you that extra motivation to persevere.
Of course you’ll have days where you’re frustrated or upset or find yourself being negative, but with practice you’ll get pretty good at recognising it now and getting out of that funk. Some days are tougher than others, that’s the nature of the beast though. Try and recall the emotions and thoughts from the last time you were positive and achieved something great, and that should help you out of your funk. The more you practice this, the better you’ll get at pulling yourself out of negativity. The brain is the most complex thing we know, so it’s little wonder it takes work to get it running to the best of our ability.
If every single day were easy we’d get bored, we’d stagnate, there would be no fuel to fire our drive. But it’s what we do during those tough days that really determines who we are and what we can achieve.
Your thoughts will have a large bearing on whether you see challenges in a positive or a negative light.
Five things you’re grateful for
You might be thinking that that’s all well and good, but now, you‘re a bit older and life is a little different, so that sort of carry on isn’t that practical these days. Well, as Berra would say, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”. We’re always in a position to learn new thought patterns and skills, it’s just a case of a bit of discipline and repetition.
Think about it next time you’re in a tough situation, do you immediately turn to negative self talk or are you someone who tries to be proactive and find a solution to your problem? A really good tool you can use in the mornings on the way to work, is to make a list of five things you’re grateful for, or five things you want to achieve that day. Try and repeat it over and over a few times till it’s stuck in your head. It should help you go into the day with more of a purpose, and feeling more determined to accomplish whatever you have on that day. It also doesn’t leave room for any negativity to sneak in there. You can also use this when I’ve had a stressful event happen and you can feel yourself getting anxious or becoming negative.
Make a list of five things you’re grateful for.
It’s a healthy habit to just get into the routine of doing it every morning, then before you know it, the thoughts coming in will be more positive than ever. Practice does indeed make perfect. So next time you have a big day of work, a stressful event, are going for a big lift or anything else you may not feel as confident in, try and repeat a positive mantra to yourself 10 times (along with some deep breathing) and we guarantee it’ll make your mind clearer and ready to tackle any situation.
If you’d like to have a chat with any one of our health and wellness experts about mental exercises, just have a chat with us and we’ll get you on the right track!
