This player flew in from Alabama this weekend.
Something interesting happened.
Every time he made a bad swing...
he had something to say.
Every time he missed a ball...
he had an explanation.
Every time something went wrong...
he gave it attention.
But every time he smoked a line drive...
nothing.
No reaction.
No acknowledgment.
No credit.
After our session, we went to grab lunch.
And while we were talking, I asked him:
"Do you feel confident?"
He said:
"I don't know. I haven't played a game yet."
That answer stopped me.
Because he was waiting for a game to tell him how to feel about himself.
The truth is:
He wasn't his biggest fan.
He was his biggest critic.
And my coach at UCLA used to say:
"You cannot outperform your self-image."
If you spend all your time talking about what's wrong...
don't be surprised when you stop seeing what's right.
So I gave him one assignment:
The next time you do something well...
say it.
Out loud.
-Good swing.
-Good take.
-Good adjustment.
-Good barrel.
Most athletes are comfortable criticizing themselves.
Very few are comfortable encouraging themselves.
Try this tonight.
Every time you catch yourself saying something negative...
find one thing you did well and say it out loud.
You might discover the conversation holding you back isn't coming from a coach, a parent, or an opponent.
It's coming from you.
Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis
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