Play To Win; Not to Lose
The University of Michigan football team is undergoing a transition period. There has been a coaching change. Hopefully there will also be a change in motivation and psychology.
Lloyd Carr has a wonderful reputation as a coach. He has been well-liked by his players, fellow coaches and most people he has met. He has been a role model for running a football program with morals.
Unfortunately, Coach Carr appeared to motivate his team with the philosophy to not lose. As a result the team game plans were entirely predictable, unimaginative and way too conservative. His game plans built on the philosophy to not lose prevented his teams from beating teams who were motivated creatively and imaginatively to win.
Too often, people are like conservative coaches. We play our lives not lose. We do not play our lives to win! We motivate ourselves to not make mistakes rather than taking the risk of going beyond our comfort zones. We do not set goals for self-actualization, instead settling for its self-preservation.
Steve Siebold in his book, 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, wrote:
"Average people have been programmed to avoid pain at all costs, which promotes a ‘playing not to lose’ mentality.
Many world-class performers were raised with these same beliefs, yet learned to reprogram themselves somewhere along the way."
After interviewing and studying the lives of champions, Steve has concluded:
"A world-class belief system can be created from scratch, no matter what your age, upbringing or current lot in life".
With mental fitness programming you can change and learn to think like a champion!
You can have a life script and belief system for winning, instead of continuing life scripts that maintain the status quo and focus on not losing.
Remember, YOU LIVE WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT CREATED BY YOUR CHOICES!
Dr. Hal
Life and Mental Fitness Coach
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