January 18, 2022
REDLEG STATE OF MIND #9–22
Monthly newsletter of the Cincinnati Reds Mental Skills Program. What we’re pondering and promoting to optimize your mental performance.
Theme: Why mental skills. In other words, why train your brain? This installment we will discuss why we consider the development of mental skills creates “complete” athletes, performers, and people.
What is a complete athlete? A complete athlete is a performer that has prepared and fully developed all the physical, mental, technical, and tactical (PMTT) tools required to not only meet the demands of his or her sport, but perform optimally at the edge of their potential. If you were counting… mental tools and preparation are on the list! In fact we believe someone can perform at the edge of their potential without mental training, but in order to perform at that level on a consistent basis, sound mental skills are a necessity. This same principles apply to the business world.
We are not saying mental skills are more important. Trust us, we believe mental skills are very important… they are what we do! The truth is it does not matter how mentally tough you are if you don’t have the physical or technical skills to play the game. You have to have the strength and conditioning to throw, swing, run and so on, while you have to have the technical skills to pitch, hit, steal and more. We do however believe mental skills are a big piece of the performance pie. Yogi Berra once said, “baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” Even if you don’t go as far as Yogi, we can argue that physical, mental, and technical skills are equal in importance. Where we do think there is inequality lies in the amount of devoted training to the mental side of the game.
So, why train your brain? Here are some reasons beyond helping you perform your best more consistently.
- Training mental skills trains the whole person, not just their physical or technical skills.
- Mental skills easily generalize. Meaning, skills that help you on the field also help you in the office, or at home, and in many different arenas of your life.
- You already have mental skills: you think, you imagine, you talk to yourself, you motivate yourself, you plan, you cope… why not optimize what you are already doing?
- A game of failure: The biggest factor in bouncing back from failure is your mind, not your body. Failure reframed is a learning opportunity to take your skills to the next level.
- You are training your brain anyways, so let’s be intentional about it. Every thought and movement is building stronger or creating new neural connections in our brains. We want big beautiful brains that help us perform at our potential and help us enjoy doing it.
- Mental skills training allows you to clarify your values. Doing this will bring simplicity yet meaning to your life. It will also help you balance your personal and professional life.
Some tips for improving your amount of mental training:
- Incorporate MS work into your existing routine by finding dead time or couple MS work with automatic activities (e.g., do breathwork on your drives, do a walking meditation from your car to the office, set a daily goal while waiting on your coffee, practice a minute of mindful eating, practice “locking-in” during your conversations, take 5 minutes between zoom calls to center and be present, etc.)
- Build a wake-up and wind-down routine that incorporates imagery, mindfulness, breathwork, journaling, self-talk, etc.
- Set mental training goals (SMART) just like you would set outcome, performance, or process goals.
- Rotate a mental skill of the week. Pick a skill you want to focus on for the week and be creative in how you incorporate training that skill on its own and incorporating it into your day.
- Consistently journal at the same time every day. Simply reflecting on your day and performance (whatever your performance is!) will slow you down and give you time to think about what your strengths, weaknesses, and where opportunities for growth lie.
- Have a better understanding of your WHY by recognizing what motivates you to wake up every morning to do what you do. It could be your family, loving your job, pride of being a Red, financial remuneration among others. It does not need to be one motivator it could be a combination of many.
Bonus mental skill practice: Grounding exercise to experience the present moment.
1. Find three things you see. Watch and observe them one at a time. Study them curiously.
2. What are three things you hear? Listen to them intently.
3. Identify three things you feel with your body (not your emotions). Experience them thoroughly.
4. Take inventory of how you feel being in the present moment, mind connected with your body.
5. Feel free to add the senses of taste and smell in future practice.
Quote of the week:
“Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” — Bill Russell
And of course, if you have any questions about what is included in our newsletters, please reach out! That is what we are here for. For all Reds to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to bring their best self as much as possible.
#TrainYourBrain, #UpYourGame, and #BeComplete
- Tyler and Oscar
Be sure to follow us on the following Social media platforms:
Slack: #mentalfitness (#trainyourbrain for pitchers)
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Twitter: @Redsbrain
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