#001 – Lessons In Mental Toughness From Sport & The Truth About Haters

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Bringing 5 things to your inbox every Thursday morning to ignite your curiosity and help drive your growth.

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F2T at a Glance:

• Quote: The truth about haters

• Podcast you should listen to: James Smith x Mike Thurston

• Hack: How to save time when listening to podcasts

• Framework: Lessons in Mental Toughness from Sport

• Online course you should try: Omnichannel Marketing with lululemon

Quote:

This hit me so hard when I first heard it. And it is so true.

Every time I’ve experienced any sort of hate for trying to improve and better myself, it has always come from people who lack either the courage or the discipline to do something themselves.

Something for us all to keep in mind…

Podcast you should listen to:

James Smith x Mike Thurston

James Smith is a British guy living in Bondi who is the world’s fastest-growing online PT. Recently, he joined YouTuber, fitness trainer, and body recomposition specialist, Mike Thurston at his condo in Dubai for a 2-hour chat.

If you feel like you’re at a fork in the road and you’re uncertain about the path ahead, then listen to this podcast. James and Mike talk about everything from the fascinating pros and cons of brand endorsements to a philosophical exploration of pleasure vs happiness.

You can listen to the episode on Spotify here or watch it on YouTube here.

Hack:

Listen to podcasts at 1.2x speed.

By listening to podcasts at 1.2x speed, you’ll be able to listen to 5 hours worth of podcasts in approx. 4 hours.

Any faster, and your ability to actually absorb the information you’re taking in begins to diminish rapidly.

Quicker listening speed = ability to listen to more podcasts = more knowledge gained.

Right?

Give it a go.

Framework:

Mental Toughness in Sports

I recently came across a study conducted in the UK on Word-Class athletes, coaches, and sports psychologists.

They asked the athletes to write the traits they thought epitomised a ‘mentally tough performer’.

These were the 12 most common answers:

1. Having an unshakable belief in your ability to achieve your goals.

2. Bouncing back from performance setbacks as a result of increased determination to succeed.

3. Having an unshakable self-belief that you possess unique qualities and abilities that make you better than your opponents.

4. Having insatiable desire and internalised motives to succeed.

5. Remaining fully focused on the task at hand in the face of competition-specific distractions.

6. Regaining psychological control following unexpected and uncontrollable events.

7. Pushing back the boundaries of physical and emotional pain while maintaining technique and effort under stress.

8. Accepting competition anxiety is inevitable and knowing that you can cope with it.

9. Thriving on the pressure of competition.

10. Not being adversely affected by others’ good and bad performances.

11. Remaining fully focused in the face of personal life distractions.

12. Switching a sport focus on and off as required.

So, what can we take away from all of that?

Personally, the lesson that resonated with me most was No. 6.

When we think of the most successful athletes that we’ve grown up admiring, they all have an unwavering ability to retain their locus of control. They don’t let external events (opponents, referees, etc.) emotionally influence their performance. Rather, they process what’s happening in their external environment purely from an analytical standpoint to inform their next move.

There’s a lot to be said about that and how we make decisions in our personal lives.

Too often, we make emotionally-charged decisions as opposed to intellectually-informed judgements.

Online course you should try:

Last week, I completed an Omnichannel Marketing virtual experience program with lululemon.

If you’re keen on learning how to effectively market products or services online through various channels, I highly recommend it.

The course is free and takes ~2.5 hours to complete.

My key takeaways were:

1. How to write a fully-fledged creative brief.

2. The importance of consistent messaging across all platforms yet simultaneously tailoring content depending on the particular audience you’re trying to reach.

You can check it out here.

That’s all for this week!

Thank you for reading the first-ever edition of Five to Thrive!

I’m so grateful for your support and looking forward to seeing where this journey takes us ⚡

Stay hungry, stay humble, stay curious.