As you may have heard me say a million times in the past, I get a lot of inspiration from professional athletes. They are unique in the world in that\u00a0their \u00a0minds must be completely under control in order for them\u00a0\u00a0to be successful at such a high level.\u00a0 Here is an example. The world series of baseball is going on these days – the pitcher on the mound tonight had\u00a0a fight with his catcher earlier in the year.\u00a0 This of course is not ok in the multi million dollar world of professional baseball.<\/p>\n
So the pitcher saw a famous sports psychologist named Ken Ravizza and learned to get his mind under control so that he could use his physical talents to win games.\u00a0 Here is what the psychologist said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like an elite-level athlete is messed up and we\u2019re going to fix him,\u201d Ravizza said. \u201cIt\u2019s about what it takes to be great. The mental game is such a big part of it; you have to develop it like the physical game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about feeling great. It\u2019s about learning to be comfortable being uncomfortable. You\u2019re going to be uncomfortable. You\u2019re going to feel pressure. If you think you\u2019re going to be relaxed and mellow, you\u2019re kidding yourself. The difference is embracing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0That’s what I’m learning about bipolar disorder. I control as much as I can and I’m exponentially better than I have ever been, but I still have a lot of serious mood swings. I’m just learning to live with some of the uncomfortable thoughts I have to go through while I manage the illness.\u00a0 I will have this illness for the rest of my life. I work hard every single day to stay stable, but on some days, like today- I just have to deal with some really uncomfortable thoughts and\u00a0do\u00a0what I can to\u00a0get better.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I can do it!<\/p>\n
Julie<\/p>\n
PS: I am going to read Ravizza’s book Heads Up Baseball and see what I can learn about myself.\u00a0 I also highly recomend A Champion’s Mind by Pete Sampras.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As you may have heard me say a million times in the past, I get a lot of inspiration from professional athletes. They are unique in the world in that their minds must be completely under control in order for them to be successful at such a high level. Here is an example. The world series of baseball is going on these days – the pitcher on the mound tonight had a fight with his catcher earlier in the year. This of course is not ok in the multi million dollar world of professional baseball.<\/p>\n
So the pitcher saw a famous sports psychologist named Ken Ravizza and learned to get his mind under control so that he could use his physical talents to win games. Here is what the psychologist said:<\/p>\n