Recently I’ve developed a new habit. It involves travelling to libraries to sit down to read my books. I pack a book or two with me at all times in the off chance I might be able to visit a library to sit down for a coffee and read.
This book here I discovered about a decade ago, right around the same time I discovered eustress and flow, and how easy it is to experience these mental states in challenging sports.
And while many times over the years I walked away from books or made the assumption I won’t ever need that again, it’s very important you keep everything and never throw any away.
One day you might wake up to reach for that book again. You’ll have no idea why you might need but in 10-years you might. The books you read are a reflection of your personality. Things that don’t speak to everyone else. Perhaps at many times people won’t understand. But for some reason they speak to you and they are all the books that instructed you, inspired you and helped you. And it could be what you discover, read, or learn today is not something you will even know what to do with until enough time has passed.
The person you are picking up and reading the same words today is not the same person reading the same words a decade from now. What that means is you are going to be able to do more with the same thing but only after this investment of time goes by.
That’s why it’s important you keep everything. Never delete anything and especially never throw any of your work away. That includes books. You will find at random times what you read over years will all of a sudden flash into your imagination telling you to go and reach for that. Something may speak to you to go to it again even though it never called you for years.
So that’s why, its always a good idea to keep it all and just wait for the call.
It then becomes fun when looking at the cover of a book for the first time in a decade and you see patterns emerge from the words and their meanings relating to other books read, forming a message just from seeing a picture.
FLOW SPORT: FINDING PEAK STATE PERFORMANCE [MASTERY THROUGH SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY]
PATIENCE
Care enough to never care how long it will take. But, give yourself 10-years as a minimum baseline for getting good. Then, focus the following 10 on great.
PREPARATION
Because you will fail. And if you fail to prepare, that is a plan to fail too. So prepare yourself for lots of failure.
Why? Because…
PLANNING
Won’t always guarantee success. But, failure can always lead to validated learning. And if you keep letting failure teach you something, aha, now you’re getting it. Every failure has inside of it the opportunity for success.
PROACTIVE
in times of failure. As this can lead to far better success than if you did not fail at all. As long as you continue to seek and don’t let it break you. See failure for what it really is: an opportunity to learn your way up.
PURPOSE
No task or activity to ever be done randomly nor without a specific aim and reason for why in doing so. Engage with each task purposefully.
PRACTICE
Live your life by this rule. Each day is school and you will never finish your education. You are not practicing until. You are practicing to fulfil. And fulfilment is not something you should seek to end. Therefore always practice.
PERFORMANCE
is a pleasure. Therefore practice is its own reward. As each practice is in itself another performance. Mental or physical. It’s all performing and always a pleasure. So continue raising the bar.
PASSION
Will get you started. But, it will never be enough. Skill matters more than passion. As skill requires more than just passion. Having love for the game is okay, to start out. But attain mastery, first, and passion will easily follow.
PERSONAL MASTERY
“The struggle is great, the task divine, to gain mastery, freedom, happiness and tranquility.” – Epictetus.
And it is in your power to achieve these things.
PERSISTENCE
then, is the only thing you’ve got to do. And, your only way through. So, all you’ve got to do is just keep going.
BE THE EXAMPLE YOU WANT THEM TO LEAD ONE DAY: QUIETER LIVING IS THE WAY
In a world becoming ever increasingly anxious losing its mind and grip on reality distracted by technology, be in that last few remaining sitting quietly in a room somewhere, by themselves, purposefully engaging their mind. Set your sight on long term challenges.