FAITH
"I will prepare and some day my day will come." -Abraham Lincoln
When discussing mental skills for performance, please do not underestimate faith. Faith comes from the Latin word ‘fides,’ meaning trust and confidence. It can be defined as a belief or confidence in God or self or others. It is often a belief that is not based on proof from a scientific model. Faith is a critical mental skill for creating a best possible internal state, which is the first step for giving a best effort performance.
The ability to get yourself into a trusting state leads to successful performances under pressure. When competition and stakes are high, this ability is a difference maker. This "trust mode" exists when the athlete has an abundance of two huge mental skills: confidence and focus. Faith in oneself and in teammates supports this. To me, faith in God also helps have the courage to believe this sentence: "I will trust my stuff today because I know that my best effort is always good enough."
Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus and other motivational books, writes that the key to happiness and success is to be like a kid on Christmas morning: thankful for the gifts received and optimistic and excited about the new gifts still to come. Abundance will flow into our life when gratitude flows out of our heart. At the same time, we must avoid complacency by recognizing the incredible potential the future holds. Many people feel excited and confident after exciting and positive things happen. It is more useful to understand that confidence comes after hard work, but before positive outcomes (which is what most people call "success.") When we have fun, trust, and focus, we perform better on the diamond and win more at softball. Similarly, when we get excited about life, we get an exciting life. Why wait??? Faith is the key, and it is not hard to have. The arguments for faith are everywhere. From the bible to our peers, from our forefathers' experiences to our own, from the beauty of your favorite music and place to all art in between, the arguments for faith are tough to reject.
A True Story About Superman and his Faithful Belief System
It would be an amazing world if we would all respond to adversity with half the courage of Superman. My mentor was Harvey Dorfman. His father taught him that, “Sufferin’ makes you stronger, kid, as long as you survive.” Of course this requires courage and faith. Who is more courageous than Superman? No one I know. Christopher Reeve was a hugely successful actor known to America as Superman when at the age of 42, he was paralyzed in an equestrian accident. His first and second cervical vertebrae were destroyed, paralyzing him below the neck. After five days without full consciousness, coherence brought the most logical and predictable choice: suicide. When his wife Dana pledged her full support no matter what, that option was dismissed, and the first steps of therapy were taken down the long, winding, scary, unknown road ahead. Reeve began his new life as a vent-dependent quadriplegic.
Ignoring the limiting beliefs of doctors, Reeve worked to strengthen his body in case a cure was found in time. He also worked to breathe and move through ridiculous pain because he believed that any part of the body, including the central nervous system, could be regenerated. Five years after the injury, his doctor asked him if anything was new. He responded by moving his left index finger on command. “I don’t think Dr. MacDonald would have been more surprised if I had just walked on water,” Reeve reported. The list of firsts he achieved from that point on was long and astounding to the medical community. He regained conscious movement of all major parts of his body, including walking in water and sitting up on his own. All this took hours of work, focused determination, and faith. Faith that he could do something that, to his and our knowledge, had never been done before. During his recovery, which lasted until his death in 2004, Reeve also spoke, acted, and directed -- all to critical acclaim. He wrote: Still Me, and Nothing is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life. He was a dedicated father. Most importantly, he used his name and speaking ability (despite the respirator) to fund research, drive activism (leading by example), provide a resource center, award quality-of-life grants, and swell hope for all paralyzed people through The Christopher Reeve Foundation. Thank you, Superman, for the courage you demonstrated throughout your life. As you said, "Life is worth living."