With Winning in Mind By Lanny R. Bassham

Larry is a former gold medal winning Olympic and mental training coach. “The Mental Management® System is not based on psychology; instead, it is 100% based on competition. I did my apprenticeship in the arena of Olympic pressure. My credibility is not based on the course I took in college; it’s in my gold medals and the medals of my students. It’s not theory; it’s simply what works. My goal in this book is to share with you the mental techniques that I have discovered and used to win.”

 

NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE UNLESS YOU CHANGE YOURSELF FIRST

The expectation of winning comes from an internal feeling the champion has concerning his performance. He is in harmony with the idea that his expectation and his performance are equal.

Champions and asked them what they were thinking about while performing at their best. Interestingly, most say that they were thinking about nothing or very little while winning their event. This makes sense when you consider that when the Conscious Mind is quiet the Subconscious can do its best work. We need to perform subconsciously in big competitions. When we think about winning while performing, we become outcome-oriented instead of performance-oriented and normally over-trying is the result. Over-trying has caused more good competitors to lose competitions than any other form of mental error.

What is Mental Management®? “Mental Management® is the process of improving the probability of having a consistent mental performance, under pressure, on demand.”

 

The Self-Image 

• The Self-Image makes you “act like you.” It is the total of your habits and your attitudes. Your performance and your Self-Image are always equal. This is the most important of the three, because the Self-Image and success are directly related. The Self-Image and the Conscious Mind are always in communication with one another. 
  • Every time we think about something or attempt to do something it creates an imprint that is stored in the Self-Image. The Self-Image generates a view on how you see yourself based on these imprints. I believe these imprints change the Self-Image. You may have the ability to play at a very high level but if you don’t have the Self-Image that it is like you to win, you have very little chance of winning.

• How performance is generated. The Conscious Mind examines the environment, offers solutions, sets goals and priorities, and chooses the next thought sequence. If a subconscious action is required, the Conscious Mind triggers the Subconscious Mind to perform while at the same time generating an imprint in the Self-Image. The Self-Image controls the amount of subconscious skill you will use based on what it views as being true about you.

The Triad State

• When the Conscious, Subconscious and Self-Image are balanced and working together, you perform smoothly, efficiently and seemingly effortlessly toward your goal. Conscious + Subconscious + Self-Image all working in balance! 
• If you think it is outside your Self-Image to do a task you may have trouble finding the skills to perform it.
• The Principle of Balance: When the Conscious, Subconscious and Self-Image are all balanced and working together, good performance is easy.
• In the Triad State, a person is balanced, confident and great performances can become a reality. It is this balance that produces power. If a baseball player is in the Triad State, he is concentrating on the process of getting a hit, has trained so well that he is swinging subconsciously and has the mental attitude that it is “like me” to hit the ball. The result is a hit. If a salesman is in the Triad State, he is concentrating on solving his client’s problem through the sale of his product, has practiced his presentation enough so that it is subconsciously done and he has the attitude that it is “like me” to make the sale. The result is an order.
• If you just cannot seem to move ahead in your sport or business, ask yourself these questions: 
  • Am I out of balance? 
  • Am I concentrating on my goals? 
  • Do I really possess the skills to do my job well? 
  • Do I need more training? 
  • Is it like me to do the job, or do I need to change something about me to do the work? 
  • We are all out of balance at one time or another in our lives. To get back in the Triad State, we must grow the size of our process circles.

 

Chapter 4 Principles of Mental Management

Number 1 Your Conscious Mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time.

• Action Statement for Principle Number 1 “I take control of what I picture, choosing to think about what I want to create in my life.” Principle of Mental Management®

Number 2 What you say is not important. What you cause yourself or others to picture is crucial.

• Action Statement for Principle Number 2 “I always give myself commands in a positive way. I remind myself that what others are picturing, as a result of hearing me speak, is crucial to proper understanding.”

Principle of Mental Management® Number 3 The Subconscious Mind is the source of all mental power.

• Unlike the Conscious Mind, the Subconscious can do many things at once. In fact, your brain is like a huge computer. Just how many separate functions can be handled by the Subconscious simultaneously is hard to measure, but it may be in the billions. Your Subconscious Mind can perform a great number of activities simultaneously. That is why we need to perform in the subconscious mode rather than the conscious. It is vastly more powerful.
• Action Statement for Principle Number 3 “I am so well-trained that all of my performance is subconsciously done. I trust my Subconscious to guide my performance in competition.”

Principle of Mental Management® Number 4 The Self-Image moves you to do what ever the Conscious Mind is picturing.

• Positive pictures demand positive results from the Subconscious. If we think negatively, we have to expect negative results.
• Action Statement for Principle Number 4 “I realize that my Self-Image is moving me to perform what I am consciously picturing. I control what I picture and picture only what I want to see happen.”

Principle of Mental Management® Number 5 Self-Image and performance are always equal. To change your performance, you must first change your Self-Image. 

• The mind is like a submarine. The Conscious Mind is the periscope. The Subconscious is the engine, and the Self-Image is the throttle of that engine. The Subconscious is always asking the Conscious Mind what it sees. Then it launches the boat in that direction. The speed is determined by the Self-Image. The Self-Image, made up of your habits and attitudes, makes you “act like you”. Your Self-Image directs your behavior.
• In fact, we are changing all the time. We experience change as we age. The direction of that change can either be determined by you or for you. If you do not take control of your life, other most surely will. I believe that one of the most important factors in success at the Olympic level is that Olympians tend to control their Self-Image growth.
• We all have a comfort zone, the upper and lower limits being defined by our Self-Image. It is “like us” to operate within this zone. As long as we are in the zone, our Self-Image will provide us with extra power to improve until we are back within the zone. Likewise, if we start scoring better than our comfort zone, the Self-Image tends to slow us down until we are, once again, back in the zone. Change the zone, and we will change the performance. 
• Action Statement for Principle Number 5 “I am aware that my performance and Self-Image are equal. I am eager to change my habits and attitudes to increase my performance.”

Principle of Mental Management® Number 6 You can replace the Self-Image you have with the Self-Image you want, thereby permanently changing performance.

• The Self-Image is always changing, and you can direct the change or simply let your environment make the change for you. If you are proactive about controlling the direction of your life, then you must control the way you think. Every time you think about an error, you move to make it like you to create it. Every time you think about a solution to a problem it becomes more like you to solve it. 
• Action Statement for Principle Number 6 “I am responsible for changing my Self-Image. I choose the habits and attitudes I want and cause my Self-Image to change accordingly.”
• Concentration is nothing more than the control of one’s mental picture. Remember, the Subconscious, with all its power, moves you to do whatever the Conscious Mind programs. If you can control the picture, you can control the performance. Our conscious picture is formed from what you think about, talk about and write about.

Principle of Mental Management® Number 7 The Principle of Reinforcement: The more we think about, talk about and write about something happening, we improve the probability of that thing happening.

• Besides, I can’t remember how I got the nines. I do not reinforce bad shots by remembering them.” You should talk about your good shots. By doing that you improve the probability that you will have more good shots in the future.
• Be careful not to complain. I often hear people in both business and sport, complain about their circumstances. Complaining is negative reinforcement. I teach my students not to reinforce a bad shot by getting angry. Do not reinforce a bad day at the office by complaining to your spouse. Remember something that you did well each day instead. Fill your thoughts only with your best performances, and you cannot help but be successful.

Action Statement for Principle Number 7 “I choose to think about, talk about, and write about what I wish to have happen in my life.”

 

Chapter 5 The Mental Management Goal Setting System

• My advice is to only set goals on things that YOU can control. Keep your focus on you, not your competitors. Rehearse in your mind the process of executing a combination of mental feelings and technical moves that get results. Your success is determined by how well you can control what is in front of you not by worrying about outcome.

Attainment is the total of accomplishment and becoming. Accomplishment is how you measure the EXTERNAL and becoming is how you measure the INTERNAL. Winning is more than just a way to measure the outcome. It also reflects who the person has become. It is a mirror to life; a snapshot of who this player is as well as how high he can score. We compete on the field as we compete in life. We become competitors. We become A-class or Master-class. We don’t just shoot Master-class scores. Attainment, consisting of becoming something, should be our goal not simply accomplishment.

• You do this by goal setting for both what you want to accomplish AND who you wish to become in the process.

Step Number 1 Determine a goal worth trading your life for.

• Don’t let caution keep you from experiencing life. Go out and find a dream worth trading your life for because in the end, that is what you are doing. Set big goals. You do not want to end up regretting your life.”
• This goal setting system is designed for the big goals of your life. Find goals that excite you. You must be specific. The more you can identify exactly what you want, the better your chances of obtaining it.

Step Number 2 Decide when you want it.

Step Number 3 List the pay value. 

• Why do you want the goal? List all the reasons that are important to you for achieving the goal. Make certain the goal you set is big enough to be life-changing for you. People are motivated by three things: the promise of gain, fear of loss, and recognition. Set a goal big enough to move you to change your habits or attitudes. If it is too small it will just not be worth it for you to make changes in your life. Also, the goal must be your goal, not the goal of another. Is the pay-value personally rewarding to you?

Step Number 4 Honestly evaluate the obstacles in your way. 

• Again, you must be specific. What must you do to overcome each obstacle? What habits and attitudes must you change to reach your goal? Remember, nothing is going to get better until you get better. You must change. What new skills do you need? How much additional time must you invest? What are you willing to give up?

Step Number 5 What is your plan to get your goal? 

• The difference between a wish and a goal is that a goal has a written plan to get it. Wishes usually do not come true. Goals with written plans have a much better chance of being reached.

Step Number 6 Evaluate your plan before you proceed. 

• Ask some questions. How will going for this goal affect my priorities in life? How will the people I care about be affected by this plan? Is the plan consistent with my fundamental values? Do I really believe my plan will work? Do I really believe I can work the plan? Is the prize worth the price? This is the most important step in the goal-setting process. Ask yourself, “Is the pay-value worth the price I have to pay for it?” If the answer is positive, chances are your goal and plan are correct.

Step Number 7 Schedule your plan.

Step Number 8 Start Now.

Step Number 9 Prior to reaching your goal always set a new one to take it’s place.

Step Number 10 Hold on to the end or trade up.

• There is one acceptable reason to let your goal go; you trade up.
• One of the most important things I’ve found useful is to write out the goal in the first person, present tense. I told her to write, “I am the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in Ladies Match Pistol. Write it out in your journal every night, be disciplined to stay with it, and one of two things will happen, either you won’t believe it and you’ll stop writing it, or you’ll keep on writing it and you’ll succeed.”

Chapter 6 Rehearsal: The Most Versatile Mental Tool

• I discovered that when you vividly rehearse an action neural pathways in the brain are created. These pathways are similar to small tracks engraved in the brain cells that can ultimately enable an athlete to perform the actual task. Therefore, one of the benefits of rehearsal is that it actually paves the roadways that we must travel to perform the desired task.
  • Similar to Josh Waitzkin mentally rehearsing/visualizing. 

• When we think about creating errors we improve the chance of errors occurring as well. When we worry that bad things might happen to us we are actually rehearsing them. We are building new neural pathways toward failure.

Principle of Mental Management Number 8 The Self-Image cannot tell the difference between what actually happens and what is vividly imagined.

Using Rehearsal to Improve Attitude

• Step one: First you must define the situations where your attitude needs to be maximized. 
• Step Two: Decide what attitudes you need in these situations. 
• Step Three: Rehearse that you are in these situations and feeling the way you desire to feel.

Chapter 7 The Three Phases of a Task To properly implement the Mental Management® System, 

You need to understand that everything we do has three parts or phases: 1. The Anticipation Phase 2. The Action Phase 3. The Reinforcement Phase

• The anticipation phase is what you think about immediately before you perform. 
• The action phase is what you think about as you perform. 
• The reinforcement phase is what you think about immediately after you perform. 
• The difference between the champion and the average player lies in the edge the champion gains in the anticipation, action and reinforcement phases of performance. Champions carefully prepare for their tasks, concentrate properly while performing, and reinforce all good results while correcting errors. It’s important to understand what these phases mean so that you’ll understand how certain techniques I mention later can work for you.

The Reinforcement Phase 

• I have discovered in my many years as a mental coach that most world-class athletes do well in the anticipation and action phases. However, they often break down in the reinforcement phase. I see far too many athletes reinforcing their bad performances by thinking and talking about them. Every time you talk about a bad performance, you improve the probability of having another one just like it in the future.

To prepare yourself for competition, ask yourself:

• How well prepared are you for your task? Are you performing below your potential because you are not properly prepared? Truthfully answering these questions will help your anticipation phase preparation. Then, ask yourself how well do you perform when the circumstances are different from those you have anticipated? This gives you insight into your action phase preparation. Finally, ask yourself what do you reinforce? Do you praise others when they perform well?

 

Chapter 9 Pressure – Is It Friend or Foe?

• You should not want or need to avoid pressure. “Pressure is not something you need to avoid. It is something you need to use.” The first thing we must do to control a thing is to understand a thing.
• Pressure, simply put, is neither positive nor negative. Pressure is like air. Too much and you have a hurricane. Too little and you suffocate. But in the correct amount it is the breath of life.
• Pressure is two things at the same time: anxiety and tension.
  • Anxiety Anxiety is fear. It is almost always viewed as a negative but thinks about it. Fear is what keeps you from driving too fast, following too close to the car in front of you and paying that credit card bill on time.
  • Tension That is the other side of pressure. Tension is your level of excitement. Everything we do best has a corresponding level of tension. If we are too relaxed we might lose focus. If we are too nervous we might rush the process or over-try. People have a natural tension state. Some are calm by nature while others are bouncing off of the walls most of the time.

Nerves

• If you are too nervous in a competition I have three suggestions that can help to match your excitement level to your sport. 
  • Recognize that pressure is positive and something that you can control. First, pressure is not in your imagination. It is real, a good thing and you can use it to your advantage. You must accept that it is normal to feel something in a pressure situation. This is your body saying, “This is important. Pay attention.” Accept the advantages of stress and expect that your scores will be better for having felt pressure. Also do not be surprised if you occasionally do not notice pressure’s effects even in a big competition. Pressure does not always make itself known to the Conscious Mind. Focus on what you want to see happen, not on what is stressing you.
  • Use a planned, practiced recovery strategy. Sometimes the pressure seems to increase just after a poor shot, and you might need a way to recover. One effective technique is to have a planned and trained recovery strategy. All recovery strategies have two important things in common. First, you must get your mind off of the things that are increasing the tension/anxiety response. Secondly, you must do something that you can absolutely control.

 

Chapter 10 The Number One Mental Problem

First, they are afraid to trust their subconscious skill. Champions work hard in training and work easily in the competition. The key is to work hard enough in practice to just trust your Subconscious in the competition.

Second, they are thinking about the outcome instead of the process.

Finally, most performers over-try because they operate on the misconception that trying harder will produce a greater chance of success.

 

Chapter 11 The Skills Factory

• The elite also seems to have an uncommon persistence that defies explanation. When the going gets tough the tough get going may be trite but it is true. I believe that adversity creates a special form of motivation in people.
• Quality is a function of both the value of the knowledge you are exposed to and the efficacy of the instructors that present it to you. Is the information you are presented with the best available?
• These are the factors that affect the quality of your training; the better the quality the better the training effect.
• Quantity is the amount of time you actually spend learning and growing. It is not always directly related to the amount of time spent at the activity. It’s possible to be at a training session and do many things other than learning and growing.

Training Guideline Number 1 Catch yourself doing something right.

Training Guideline Number 2 Train four or five days a week. *disagree vehemently with this 

Training Guideline Number 3 Wherever you are, be all there.

Training Guideline Number 4 Rehearse the matchday often within the training session. Treat training days as if they had the same importance as the most crucial competition day. At some point in every day take some time to imagine that you are in competition and playing well. Be vivid in your rehearsal, see it, hear it, taste it, smell it, and feel it. Another common time to perform this rehearsal is the night before a competition.

Training Guideline Number 5 When you are playing well, play a lot. Momentum breeds momentum. The best time to practice your drives on the driving range is right after you have crushed some good ones. Keep hitting the driver. If you’re on a roll, keep ongoing. This helps to reinforce the good experience you are having and therefore make it more likely to occur in the future. Likewise, if you are slicing badly, now is not the time to hit another bucket of balls. If you are having a bad day, stop training. Do not practice losing.

Training Guideline Number 6 We raise ourselves to the standard we are around. *Such a POWERFUL concept people need to go all-in on. 

Training Guideline Number 7 Plan your year. Begin by determining the competition schedule for the year. In most sports, there are several big meets scheduled for the year, culminating in the nationals. Schedule these events on your master calendar in your journal.

 

Chapter 12 Performance Analysis

• OK. Here is why you MUST record your progress in a Performance Journal. I’ll give you three reasons. 
  • First, you cannot manage what you do not measure. Simply put, you cannot afford to be in the dark concerning your progress. You need to have a plan to reach your goals. So, you set a goal, make a plan, and go to a competition. Let’s say you do not reach your goal at that competition. If you have a well-documented Performance Journal you can easily determine if your plan failed or you just failed to work your plan. Winning is not an accident. You must plan your work, work your plan and be accountable.
  • Every time we think about something it imprints and shapes our Self-Image. I believe that when we talk about something it imprints with greater power than just thinking about it.
  • If you really want to change your Self-Image make a habit of writing down what you wish to have happened.
  • poor performances. It is a Performance Journal not a lack of Performance Journal. People who keep diaries often find their performance suffers in the future. When this happens they do the correct thing.

The Elements of a Performance Journal 

• Our Performance Analysis Journal contains a written record of six key planning areas: 
  • Your Competition Log 
  • Your Equipment Log 
  • Your General Data Section 
  • Your Solution Analysis 
  • Your Success Analysis 
  • Your Daily Goal Statement

Chapter 13 Building a Better You 

• The Self-Image is the sum of your habits and attitudes. Your attitudes determine whether you feel positively or negatively about an item or concept. Your habits determine how you act. You will do certain things because it is consistent with your Self-Image.
• Your Self-Image “makes you act like you.” It keeps you within your comfort zone. If you are below your zone, your Self-Image makes you uncomfortable and turns up your power until you are within the zone.

To change your performance, you must change your Self-Image and elevate your comfort zone.

• Playing more doesn’t always improve Self-Image but imprinting a good performance always does.
• How does Self-Image change? You change it through imprinting. Every time we hit a target we imprint a hit. This is called an actual or environmental imprint. Your environment gives you an indelible imprint every time you perform.

• I don’t think that the clarity matters. In fact, it is not what you SEE that is important but what you FEEL. Rehearse the feeling of hitting a good shot. Don’t try to see it. Try to FEEL it. What does the move feel like when you do it properly? When you imprint in this way you avoid having to clearly visualize and you reinforce the non-visual aspects of the shot as well. Many good players talk about being a feel-player. When you do that you are rehearsing not visualizing.

• We imprint continually. The Self-Image cannot tell the difference between past, present or future events as far as imprinting is concerned. Each time you recall an experience the Self-Image imprints it again as a new event.
• Keep your mind only on what you want to have happened. If you catch yourself worrying just rehearse performing well and the worries will tend to disappear.

 

First, you must be willing to change. Our Self-Image does not respond to the changes others want us to make.

Second, you must identify specifically the habits and/or attitudes that you need to change. Be specific.

Third, you must identify a new Self-Image that is in direct conflict with your old one.

Fourth, you exchange the old Self-Image for the desired one by only imprinting the new attitude or habit and trying to eliminate imprinting the old one. 

• Remember, your Self-Image is the CURRENT state of YOU. It is not the FINAL state. Be aware that your Self-Image is evolving in the direction of your imprinting. The better you control your imprinting the better captain you will be of the submarine that is taking you to your goals.

Chapter 14 The Directive Affirmation

• It is a paragraph written in the first person present tense that describes a person’s goal, pay-value of the goal, plan to reach a goal and the habits and attitudes affecting the goal. It is rehearsed repetitively, causing the Self-Image to change.

Writing A Directive Affirmation Step 1: Define the goal:

Step 2: Set a time limit:

Step 3: List the personal pay-value to reach the goal:

Step 4: Outline a plan to achieve the goal: run a mental program before each free-throw in practice and in games. Every time I score I say, “That’s Like Me!” If I do not score, I immediately focus on the next shot or the next play. Record my Performance Analysis daily. Read and visualize my Directive Affirmations daily.

Step 5: Write a Directive Affirmation in the first person present tense, beginning with the word “I.” State the goal as if you already are in possession of it. Next list the pay-value. List your plan to reach your goal. Restate the goal. Date the paragraph with your target date.