Prep Baseball Report Minnesota is excited to team up with- The Mindstrong Project. Our goal in this endeavor is to continue to provide the most up-to-date pertinent information and resources to the baseball community in the state of Minnesota.

Periodically, The Mindstrong Project will be providing content for the Prep Baseball Report Minnesota website; as they continue to work to build human performance through education while building an awareness of how the mind and body work together to sustain a consistent confident approach to game performance.

In this month's installment; The MindStrong Project talks about Goals!......

Hey everyone,

Welcome to a brand new year!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are feeling energized for 2020.  With the turn of the calendar, many feel it is a great time to start fresh, kick old habits, maybe start some new ones, or just plain start over.  What comes to my mind as we begin this new trip around the sun is New Year’s Resolutions.  However, the research on New Year’s Resolutions is not promising.  The current research suggests that an overwhelming majority of New Year’s Resolutions fail rather quickly…as in sometime around February.  Yikes.  So throughout the course of this article, my goal is to illustrate two things.  1) Why New Year’s Resolutions fail 2) Productive ways to change habits through goal-setting according to research.

Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
We’ve all either been that person or know that person who always talks about how they’re going to change after x, y, or z.  We can all sympathize with that person.  It’s even sort of exciting to think about the prospect of changing in the future.  In fact, that very idea is why New Year’s Resolutions fail.  Using a date (Jan. 1) as a means for changing is safe.  It’s some idea in the future that allows us to justify our behaviors in the present.  Waiting until New Year’s Day is our way of feeling safe.  It’s in the future, where performance doesn’t happen.  Performance happens in the present.  People make changes when THEY are ready, not when the calendar tells them to.  So, we give the new diet plan the old college try until a lack of discipline wears us down and the diet isn’t providing the results we want fast enough.  Time does not positively change people.  The calendar does not positively change people.  Intentional choice positively changes people.  Discipline positively changes people (see Jocko Willink).  “New Year, New Me” only happens when New Me happens first.  Discipline must precede habit change or habit development.  If not, the discomfort of venturing into the unknown and the uncertainty of getting the desired result will prove to be too much.  Habit change is uncomfortable.  It can be scary to let old habits die or to venture into the unknown of a new habit.  What if I put in all this work and it doesn’t pan out?  Or worse, what if I put in all this work and FAIL?  So how do we build discipline?

Trust the Process
As outlined above, the reason habit changing doesn’t come easy is usually because our own discomfort and/or uncertainty make us crave the comfort of our old habits.  Old habits are easy.  The pathways of old habits in our brains are paved with dopamine and false promises.  That is where discipline comes in.  Discipline is be able to make the right choice when the right choice isn’t as easy.  As we know though, it’s not easy.  If it was, everyone would be disciplined. 

Think of behavior development like a plant.  Discipline is the seed, which must be fed and nourished in order to grow.  Discipline doesn’t grow overnight, which is why deciding to work out 4 times a week after not working out for 6 months usually doesn’t work.  The foundation isn’t there to support the new plant.  We must start small, just as the beautiful tree starts as a seed.  We nourish the roots with water and food, and slowly the roots grow – and provide more fruit.  Finally, after months and months of consistently making small strides of growth, the roots are strong and resilient.  The roots are even capable of withstanding storms and draughts.  But remember, it all started as just a seed. 

Goals and Tools
Here are some of the ways to feed and nourish your seed of discipline.  While I believe all of these tools are valuable, I also believe these tools are not the whole story of discipline.  Rather, I believe these tools help you get on your feet as your start the process of behavior change.  Sometimes, starting can be the hardest part – or getting through the first couple of weeks.  Allow yourself to use these while the roots of your behavior change are just a seed.  Allow yourself to be empowered by the small bits of progress and discipline you see, no matter how small.

Why – Develop a reason beyond something superficial that motivates you to push through the difficult moments; your “Why”. 

Do it with a partner or group – Having people to hold you accountable will allow you to have support to lean on when things get tough; remember, your roots may not have the support they need to stand alone.  Not to mention, going through struggle together has a way of bringing people closer together.

Plan – This particular tool could be an article in itself.  Discipline may be the seed, but a plan or process is one of the biggest roots of your behavior change plant.  Otherwise, our behavior change is just words.  We have to have a detailed, specific plan for how are going to execute the plan – a recipe.  For example, if I want to start a new workout plan I need to identify what exactly will help get me in the gym, what barriers will keep me from being consistent, and prepare me for what to do when things go wrong.  The more I can create a plan in advance, the less I have to think.  The less I have to think, the more I can be in the present.  The more I can be in the present, the more I can perform.  Allow yourself the freedom to perform. 

SMART Goals – Research suggests your goals should be S.M.A.R.T.  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.  For example: “I want to be more clutch” is not a SMART Goal.  Here is how we can make it SMART: Specific:  I want to increase my Quality At-Bat percentage with runners on base by 15 percent this season.  Measurable- Yes, I can look at the numbers to see if I achieved the goal.  Achievable- Yes, it is within my power/control to accomplish that goal, and it is an attainable goal. Relevant- Yes, the goal is relevant to my success as a baseball player/development. Time-bound- Yes, the goal is for the upcoming season.

Mini Goals – My good friend who shares the same joy for personal growth as I do told me a few months ago of his disdain towards New Year’s Resolutions.  He said instead, he has instituted monthly resolutions.  For example, in September he had no added sugar.  In November, no caffeine (he loves coffee).  In December, reduced screen time on his phone.  These little monthly fasts are awesome for a couple of reasons. 1) He daily flexes his discipline muscle by avoiding an unnecessary pleasure 2) He still gets to enjoy these simple pleasures and appreciate them that much more 11 out of 12 months a year in moderation 3) He monthly improves a certain aspect of his life, which results in a slightly all-around healthier person 12 months later.  I’ve since jumped on the train and do monthly fasts of my own.  Giving up sugar completely (New Year’s Resolution) sounds daunting, but a month seems so much more manageable.  You could even do these weekly.  Feel free to reach out for ideas!

Care Less – Be sure to know that your story is yours and yours alone.  Thus, think about what you really want out of life.  If you want that, it requires you to care less about all the other stuff.  It requires you to care less about what other people think.  It requires you to care less about the embarrassment of failure.  Those who care less about those things, often care MORE about making a difference in the world.  So by caring less about the stuff that doesn’t matter, we are free to care more about what we really want.  Ponder it.

 

To conclude, I want to make it clear that behavior change happens from within.  Gimmicks and tricks and tools may help produce a specific, temporary result, but most behavior change happens as a result of self-discovery and humility.  As you think about the direction of your life – as you think about 2020, remember that the more ownership you take of your own choices, the more power you give yourself.  The more you blame external things and make excuses, the less power you give yourself.  As the author of your own story, I hope you make it a good one.  I wish you all the success in generating or maintaining a high level of excellence in 2020!

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” — Bill Copeland

“The thing about goals is that living without them is a lot more fun, in the short run. It seems to me, though, that the people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact… those people have goals.” — Seth Godin

“The most powerful control we can ever attain, is to be in control of ourselves.” ― Chris Page

 

The MindStrong Project is available for your athletes in multiple avenues.  We coach mindset training, breath work, and sauna/ice training.  We can do this for your whole organization, a team, or for individual athletes.  We offer affordable seminars, classes, membership packages and sauna/ice parties! We are happy to come to you or train remotely. Message us to learn more about our work with high school, college, and professional athletes:

 

Email: [email protected]

Austin Hanson: (218) 770-4907

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