Rob Bell's Blog, page 34

10 reasons to exercise with music.

1. Helps me tune everything else out.

2.  Pumps me up. (Helps me push through “the suck”.)

3. I’m distracted throughout the day anyways, so why change?

4.  I already have a noisy head.

5. There might be an emergency (phone users).

6. I don’t want to talk to anyone.

7. I don’t want to listen to anyone.

8. I don’t want anyone talking TO me.

9.  I like to talk on my phone while working out/walking.

10. I just can’t exercise without it. (i.e., because I can.)

Now, if you are training for a race. Check out this brief article on why you SHOULDN’T take your headphones to the gym . 

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach. DRB & Associates based in Indianapolis works with  athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The  Importance of Mental Toughness was JUST released. Twitter: @drrobbell 

 

What it took to write The Hinge, now that it is released…

My 1st book Mental Toughness Training for Golf: Start Strong Finish Strong took 2 1/2 years to complete, because I had the security of a being a professor.

On the other hand, The Hinge was written when I had the awesome idea to “pursue my goals and dreams.” I began writing on August 1st, 2012 and it has been a difficult 15 months. I am an all-in guy, so I couldn’t write some here and there. I wrote every day….2 hours every day and some days I had nothing more than two sentences because the research took over. It sapped much of my strength because after writing for 2 hours every day, I would still think and obsesses about it…Honestly, financially, not a good decision either. (If you decide to write a book, have a steady income coming in…)

However, I have been blessed to share the unique concept of Mental Toughness, because it only takes one! One purpose of my life was to write this book. That is why I set the goal for The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness to become the #1 Sport psychology book! I was fortunate enough to capture 38 stories of Hinge moments and have two Olympic Gold Medalists endorse the book…I was also able to have a fantastic book produced by Teri Capron of Fresh Design. I really believe that it can impact thousands of coaches, parents, teams, and athletes, but not without your help. I thank you all who can support the book, spread the word, and share your Hinge Moments.

check out the new FB page  and please post your reviews on Amazon and Twitter. #TheHinge

Personality doesn’t matter, or does it?

We think personality has a lot to do with success, but actually it has little impact with success on the field of play. The reason why is that the most important variable for success is execution. Since the brain is a muscle and we play like we train, we can teach and learn how to play well under pressure. It’s not an innate gene. For instance, two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Eli Manning has often been criticized by journalists and skeptics that stated he was “not a leader.”

Now, personality does play a role within teamwork, coach-athlete relationships, and especially communication. So, if you’re interested, herein lies one tool about personalities that can help improve success. The MBTI (Myers-Briggs) is a popular test for measuring personality and since we all have taken it, (we just don’t remember what we are) I have found one aspect of real usage.

One part of the MBTI relates to how we organize our outer world, or how we get control.

Are you a J or P?

J’s like organization and structure. Everything is centered on planning. While society dictates that we must be “on-time” and at “work,” our “world” is sometimes (or often) set for us. Thus, think about your day off, do you like to have it planned? However, J’s like to “moan.” If you ask a J a question, to adjust or modify technique, or something that is unplanned, you’ll hear it. J’s will begin to complain and moan about the things he/she is doing, again because a J has everything structured (planners).

How to interact with a J is simple: J’s simply need time to process information by THEMSELVES and need moan space. So, hit them and run. Hit them with the information and run before the moaning begins.

P’s enjoy freedom of space, absence of routines, and no structure. P’s prefer to have laid-back or no plans. Again think about your day off, do you like to have it “come as it may?” P’s love “new” plans or information. However, P’s will also ponder forever about making any choice because it is the last thing that they want to do (no structure).

How to interact with P’s is also simple: P’s need a push for closure. So, for P’s, offer them 2 choices and you’ll witness a big change in behavior.

The most important factor is that you know how you organize YOUR OUTER WORLD. Is it difficult for you to make a decision, or do you become upset when plans change? It really has nothing to do with likeableness, sense of humor, leadership, work-ethic, or talent. However, it has such real-world applicability that it is the one personality trait that can enhance all our relationships.

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Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach based in Indianapolis. DRB & Associates works with  athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness will be released NOV 15th. Twitter: @drrobbell 

8 New Sport Psychology books

Are you a coach, athlete, or parent in search of playing your best when it matters the most? 

Here are 8 recent Sport Psychology books—-ranging from softball & baseball, leadership, biofeedback, coaching, mental toughness and Sport Psychology practices…

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SEEDS OF SUCCESS  by Coach John Brubaker

 Burton sets out on a quest for knowledge to become a better coach, teacher, and person. Through the guidance of an  unlikely mentor, Jack meets three extraordinary teachers and learns how creating a philosophy and having a system give you the power to access greater results in any endeavor.

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1 PITCH WARRIOR- GUIDE TO MENTAL TOUGHNESS  by Coach Justin Dehmer 

1 Pitch Warrior – Guide to Mental Toughness  is the key to unlocking your full potential as a player or a coach. Not only do the things provided in this book allow you to find your true potential on the field, but I am confident that they will enrich your life off the field as well.

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3 keys of confidence

Show me a successful athlete, or person and I’ll show you someone who is confident. It is without a doubt, the most important mental skill. You gotta believe in yourself! Here are three keys about confidence.

 

 

 

Confidence is a feeling:

When we are confident, we feel at ease, relaxed, and focused. It is something that we just know. However, confidence is NOT thoughts, but we usually recognize when we are not confident. When we are not confident, we just have more thoughts, doubt, and are not as comfortable. We can act our way into right thinking easier than trying to think our way into right acting.

Confidence is knowing that you’re ready:

Confidence is knowing, not hoping that you are ready. A question to assess our level of confidence is: how would you play if you couldn’t fail? This mind-set is important, because I have yet to meet a successful athlete that plays awesome when they play timid or scared. Confidence = aggressive.

Confidence is patience:

Confident athletes never seem to panic or press when results aren’t going their way. We are all going to have bouts of struggle and we need to remain patient. We must trust our preparation, our coaches, our game plan, our emotional management, our routine, and process of execution. If we have confidence in the aspects we can control, then we will eventually have good outcomes.

 “They know, that I know, that they know that I know, I will win”

Watch this clip on Larry Bird & confidence!

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach based in Indianapolis. DRB & Associates works with  athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness will be released NOV 15th. Twitter: @drrobbell 

Win a Free Copy of The Hinge

Want to know John Wooden’s Hinge Moment, how a Reader’s Digest magazine change my life, & how a plane crash changed the entire music landscape forever in America?

That’s  JUST Chapter 1…. The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness is here for you.

Release date in Nov 15th…Want to win a free book? click below….

Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Hinge
by Rob Bell

Giveaway ends November 08, 2013.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

The Human Taproot

The dandelion is an interesting plant. It is a very hardy plant. It sprouts very quickly in most types of soil, growing in many climates, with little or lots of rainfall. It also does not seem to need the approval of its owner to grow successfully. Young children generally revere it, but at the same time, most homeowners hate it, because they believe it is just an annoying weed.

Mental toughness is akin to the hardiness factor in plants, which is a plant’s ability to survive in adverse growing conditions. The measurement of plant’s hardiness includes its ability to withstand drought, wind, cold, and heat. The process of gardeners developing strains of hardy plants and shrubs involves the process of “hardening” them to the elements. Ironically, the hardiest types of plants (i.e., weeds and dandelions) are usually the most undesirable to the typical homeowners.

The common trait among all hardy plants, however, is the taproot. The taproot looks similar to a carrot or turnip and grows vertically down as opposed to branching off horizontally. It distributes water where needed and it makes the plant very difficult to displace, because it will continue to resprout. Thus, developing mental toughness begins with developing a human taproot.

A human taproot is a metaphor of mental toughness. The analogy of a taproot is effective because akin to mental toughness, it is unseen. Honestly, when we look at a tree or plant, we only focus on the branches, leaves, and perhaps the fruit. Unless you are a botanist, you will pay little attention to what you can’t see, namely the taproot.

Coaches and commentators often label the human taproot as “the intangibles.” These unseen qualities are often immeasurable, yet the intangibles and the strength of the human taproot determine the success of each athlete.  Just as the strength of the taproot is what ultimately determines the longevity of the plant, the real key to success lies in the unseen, the intangibles, and one’s mental toughness. (check out this awesome blog post for more info on motivation). If the roots are not strong, then the plant and player will eventually submit to the conditions.

(excerpt from the book: Mental Toughness Training for Golf)

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach based in Indianapolis. DRB & Associates works with  athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness will be released NOV 15th. Twitter: @drrobbell 

3 rules for playing consistent

Mental Toughness is not always about playing your best. It is often more about playing consistent, because it matters how bad are the bad days. Most coaches will tell you that they thirst for the consistent performer over the streaky athlete. So, if you are not achieving consistent results, here are three aspects to examine.

1)             You are not hustling:

Nothing can replace hustle. Look at the very best in your sport at the highest level and I guarantee that they put forth the most preparation. It is the first step toward building consistency because we must know that we have put forth in the effort necessary. Ghandi once stated “the harder we work, the tougher it is to surrender.” A rule to follow is to look at who works the hardest on your team and outwork them.

2)             You are not preparing the right way:

It pains me when I see the hardest workers not seeing results. Often enough though, it is because they are not addressing the correct things. Remember, we play like we train! In order to play consistent, we simply must compete and create pressure in practice.

3)             You are putting too much pressure on yourself:

Trying harder rarely works in competition and when we feel like we are not getting anything out of our game, we are often “getting in our own way.” Focusing on results as opposed to the execution can cause us to play careful, tight, and trying NOT to mess up. Pressure stems from a variety of places (expectations mostly) and it slowly creeps into our mentality and game. Thus, we must completely devote ourselves to the task at hand and staying aggressive. Peyton Manning summed it up perfectly, “Pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what the hell you’re doing.” 

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach based in Indianapolis. DRB & Associates works with  athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness will be released soon. Twitter: @drrobbell 

How the iPhone can ruin your golf game

The iPhone has this one annoying feature when we text called auto-correct. Haven’t we all sent text messages that auto-corrects one word and the entire message becomes whacked? Okay, even sometimes amusingly. We then have to quickly follow-up with another text. We knew what we wanted to say, but auto-correct had other ideas.

Our golf game has an auto-correct feature. We line up for a 6-foot putt. After reading the line and knowing that it is a right edge putt, we stand over the ball and are ready to stroke the putt. Except at the very last second we turn into an iPhone.

We become an iPhone because we autocorrect our own play. Even though we were ready to commit to the right edge of the putt, at the very last second, we autocorrect, and pick a different line.

Now autocorrect is sometimes effective on our phone, but it is rarely, if ever, effective when we play. Almost always, the putt isn’t going in if we didn’t commit 100%. But a worse thing actually results from auto-correct. We become upset because we missed the putt, but more upset because we didn’t trust our line or ourselves.

Remove the auto-correct feature in your play.

If you or your team is looking for Mental Toughness. Contact us here…

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach based in Indianapolis. DRB & Associates works with  athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness will be released soon. Twitter: @drrobbell 

3 characteristics of the best athletes…

People often ask, what are the features of the very best athletes? Having coached, observed, studied, collaborated, spent time  and spoken with athletes for my entire life, here are the three (3) characteristics. Note: I have chosen not to include talent, because talent is a pre-requisite.
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1)  Passion- The best possess an unquenchable thirst to see how good that they can become & they LOVE their sport. This passion translates into a willingness and desire for hard work. Dale Earnhardt was once in an accident and could not finish his next race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He started the race, but they had to remove him from the car. Here was the greatest racecar driver, basically crying, because they had to take him out of the car. He said, “ Nobody loves anything more than my driving a racecar.”

2)  Competitiveness- The best athletes love to compete and put themselves in situations that test their skills. The competitiveness is more than just beating others; it is the feeling that they get from testing themselves under pressure. I often witness athletes even outside of their own sport, remain so competitive to win regardless of the event (e.g., checkers, sit-ups, darts, pogo-stick, etc.). They may fear losing, but they don’t succumb to that fear, they have an inner confidence that they continually compete. As Jimmy Connors once stated, “I hate to lose, more than I love to win.”

3)  Another Gear- If you listen to quality sports announcers close enough, they mention how certain players can change speeds. For example, Emmitt Smith holds the record for career rushing yardage in the NFL, and while few state that he is the best ball carrier of all time, he was nonetheless able to hit the gap successfully and turn downfield—He had another gear. The best are able to muster up the inner fortitude and the “it” factor which allows them to finish strong. They simply have another gear…

These skills may be more innate with the best, but they can be learned and cultivated. Honestly assess your own mental game and answer which of these characteristics do you possess and which one’s need strengthened.

Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology coach based in Indianapolis. DRB & Associates works with athletes, coaches, and teams building their Mental Toughness.  His 2nd book titled The Hinge: The Importance of Mental Toughness will be released soon. Twitter: @drrobbell