CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE DECEMBER ISSUE | Page 79

THE GOAL OF ANY
SPORT IS TO WIN AND
THERE'S NOTHING
WRONG WITH THAT.
Working with a Mental Game Coach like
myself can help bodybuilders prepare to have
a good crappy day. If you're at 60%, use 100%
of that 60%, and stop being comfortable with
what's going on. If you're going to play tough
competition, you need to be able to take
blows, absorb them, and learn how to be
resilient. Peak performance is being
comfortable when you feel uncomfortable,
controlling yourself before you can control
your performance, and being ready when the
garbage hits the fan.
The goal of any sport is to win and there's
nothing wrong with that. The issue becomes
focusing on winning when the focus should
be on what it takes to get there.  Focusing
too much on the results can result in
personal judgements about oneself as well as
potential judgements from other people.
When things don't go according to your
expectations, you can become frustrated,
lose focus, make mistakes, dwell on the
mistakes, lose confidence and have trouble
adjusting. Remember where you have control
- in the here and now.
“What do I need to do to win?”  
There are no guarantees, but give yourself
the best chance for success. You need to be
in control of yourself before you can be in
control of your performance.
The foundation of the mental
game is that you have to take
responsibility for what is
happening and what you have
control over. Again, you don't
have control over your
surroundings, you only have
control over how you choose to
respond to it. How you deal with
it, that's your decision. Self-
control leads to body control,
which leads to skill control.
Mental toughness is a skill that
can also be applied to life.
Whether you would like to learn
how to apply the mental game to
your preparation for a
competition or life, contact me
so I can help you learn how to
focus while distractions are
present, how to come back from
errors, how to deal with the
unexpected, how to keep your
mind clear, and how to use
anxiety to sharpen your sword
going into battle.
Game on!
Lesley Timbol, MGCP (Mental
Game Coaching Professional)
[phone]