As an athlete you need to work hard both mentally and physically.  However, it is crucial to be intentional with your effort for maximum effectiveness, especially if you want to move the needle on your mental game.  Therefore, it is so important to know the specific purpose or main focus of a mindset workout before beginning a training session.  We call this the “laser”, and it is what you should be concentrating on during every mental workout.  It is equally important to understand exactly how the laser is beneficial to your alter ego mindset.  The “benefit” highlights the laser’s value to your mental game.  Knowing your laser and understanding its benefit gives you the necessary incentive to work hard during the mindset workout because you truly comprehend what you are trying to accomplish and why.

When you show up to a standard practice with your team and coach, you have physical workouts with a specific purpose (whether you realize it or not) to help propel you forward as an athlete.  You go for a long run (workout); and are instructed to run a specific pace every mile from start to finish (laser); to practice setting and holding a pace regardless of how good or bad you feel, or how easy or difficult the pace feels, so you can emulate it when necessary during a cross country race (benefit).  You approach brain training in the same manner, by determining the laser for each mindset workout.  You practice the conquer process for your villain tactic of anxiety (workout); to learn how to be excited instead of anxious (laser); so you can approach competition in a positive and powerful frame of mind (benefit).  This laser and benefit process ensures you get the most out of your mindset workouts so you can improve your mental game in the most efficient manner.

Once you know the laser for your mindset workout, it is imperative to focus on it throughout the entire training session.  To understand the power of focus, think of a flashlight and a laser beam.  A flashlight spreads its light over a wide area and then dissipates out into the ethers.  A laser beam on the other hand, streamlines its particles into one straight beam and can cut through diamonds.  If you want to breakthrough to monumental success with your mindset, you have to learn to focus with laser like precision.  The mental game is multifaceted which makes determining and placing emphasis on what is most important all the more crucial.  Therefore, learning to focus on the laser of every mindset workout is essential if you want to achieve extraordinary results.

Tips

1. The life of an athlete can be very demanding, but I highly encourage you to take the time to faithfully determine the laser of each mindset workout and think through its benefit because it will pay huge dividends.
2. It takes effort and concentration to keep your laser the focal point throughout each and every mindset workout, but the results will speak for themselves.
3. Don’t just go through the motions with your mental training. Work hard to accomplish the laser of every single mindset workout so you can experience the benefits and reap the rewards.

As you can see, focusing on your laser and understanding its benefit is quite powerful and will maximize the effectiveness of your mental training sessions. By consistently executing your workouts in this manner you will accelerate the progress of your mental game, see improvement in your athletic performance, and begin the unleashing of your potential.