Pulling Away From the Pack

When you get into the first paragraph of the following article, you’re likely to wonder why I’ve chosen to post it at this time, rather than on New Year’s Day.  Well, as you’re also likely to discover, Justin Johnson’s piece is timeless, in that his suggestions would serve us well at absolutely any time of the year.

That said, I think that NOW is a very critical time in a hockey player’s year.  As many of us CoachChic.com writers suggested last spring, this is a time for reflection, or for taking an account of how we did this past season.  And so is it a time to plan ahead — so that we might improve upon some of our shortcomings, and to build further upon our strengths.

– Dennis Chighisola

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Justin Johnson, Performance Coach

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Pulling Away From the Pack

As many athletes return to school from break and we stare down another year, I wanted to lay down a challenge to all and any youth athletes and non athletes reading this, especially, those contemplating New Year’s resolutions. Whatever your area of activity, be it in school, friends, family, church, or in athletics: Separate Yourself. Be special, dare to be different, lead the pack, go big or go home.  However you would like to say it or phrase it, I ask you to be bold enough to do it.

Few athletes exemplified this mindset more than baseball’s Babe Ruth; he swung for the fences whether it was on the field, at the dinner table or in his life off the field. “I swing big, with everything I’ve got,” Ruth said. “I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.” As a result, for many years Ruth held the record for most home runs and for most strikeouts. He saw strikeouts as part of the deal. He actually said, “Every strikeout brings me closer to my next home run.”

By this time you may be asking yourself how can I, little average old me, do such a thing? Here is how you get started. Find one activity you do regularly in your life. School, sports, church and friends are all good venues. Then give more effort, care, time and energy to that activity. Use your time in that activity to do it better and longer than others around you. The result, over time, is that you build a sense of pride and fulfillment within yourself. This feeling will only propel your drive to continue to separate yourself.

There is one other way you will know you have begun to separate yourself. Others will question you and urge you to stop! They may even make fun of you or criticize your increased efforts. This is exactly what you want! You see, there are far too many of us stuck in the center of it all. Risking little, gaining little, and losing little.  Yet this is not the way we were meant to live. Others will feel threatened by your new found feeling of fulfillment and your new status separate from the center, and they will do what they can to urge you back to the pack. Don’t let them! Dare to be special, dare to be great and continue your efforts to do so regardless of what others say.

If you are looking to make some changes this new year, or even capitalize on some momentum built in ’09, then make sure you are willing to be special. Don’t be afraid to separate yourself to go after what you want. I assure you, you deserve it and you won’t regret it.

If you would like help in taking the first step, or when others begin to urge you back to the pack, please call us…we’d love to help you with your success 763-439-5246!

Justin

Justin@MentalEdgeNow.com

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Members might find this interesting…  I’ve written a hockey advice column for “Hockey/USA” magazine for close to 20-years.  And, over that span, I’ve changed the focus of my articles about four or five times.  However, for about a 5-years, the title of that column was “Dare To Be Different!”  Ya, as Justin might say, I was suggesting to my readers that they should separate themselves from the rest of the pack!

I have no doubts that member hockey players and coaches know right now what is needed for them to jump far beyond all their competition next fall.  Following Justin’s advice RIGHT NOW is one sure fire way to get what you want.  There’s a long time between now and the start of next season, you know, and all those months offer you plenty of time to make huge changes in your game.  In so doing, remember one of my favorite lines, in that, “By the inch it’s a synch!”

– Dennis Chighisola