It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein
Are you hoping to get recruited or land a scholarship to play your sport in college? It will come down to one word: PERSEVERANCE.
I bet you are an above-average athlete, who worked hard at your sport. You’re dedicated, motivated and have put in your time.
But, after all those years of practice, training, and competition, you find yourself just under the cut line of being recruited by any colleges. Offer letters aren’t stacking up in your mailbox like you see in the movies.
What should you do? It’s time for you to find your determination and take yourself to another level!
But before I give you the action items, it’s important to understand something about yourself…
As a kid, you’ve spent most of your life being told what to do and how to do it, right? Teachers, parents and coaches have all been there guiding you. Hopefully, as you’ve gotten older, you’ve taken on more and more responsibility doing things for yourself.
Right now though, you’ve got to take a big step in taking responsibility for your own life and how your story turns out. It all comes down to these questions…
Will you continue to persevere even though it takes work or will you give up? Will you fight for yourself until there’s nothing left…just like you’ve done in your sport, or will you slink back in defeat? Will you prove to everyone that you belong in the top ranks or will you whine and cry about how it’s not fair?
Today is D-day for you.
What you have to do at this point is to go into all out “attack” mode to promote yourself. It’s all up to you now!
There’s plenty of support out there and great websites like Webletes.com to use to promote yourself, but it’s useless unless you make the decision TODAY to make it happen for yourself. It’s just like the decision you made to go all out in your sport.
Decide that you will work ceaselessly and tirelessly to put yourself out there and pitch yourself to the coaches as someone they need on their team.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve run into all sorts of blocks and frustrations so far. You’ve got to put those roadblocks aside and redouble your efforts. Fire yourself up to get what you want – just like your coach used to do before a game. This is what you need to do in the real world and this is your first big test.
Once you make that commitment, you will see that things will start happening. Don’t fixate on one school. Be open-minded and see what opportunities your efforts create.
The only thing stopping you from getting that scholarship is you. Too many teens have limiting belief about themselves that stop them from achieving their goals.
If you have destructive mental habits such as…having to do everything perfectly, beating yourself up, telling yourself “I Can’t” or “It’s too hard,” procrastinating, or any other negative thoughts you need to clear that mental baggage.
Unfortunately, willpower and saying positive affirmations will only get you so far. Clearing mental baggage is what we do at the Mental Toughness Academy.
Part 2... Tomorrow
I know you have it in you!
Craig Sigl
Mental Toughness Trainer for Youth Sports
