The Winner's Edge

I knew the story on the news was about the Olympic gymnastics team. Since I’ve never been a big follower of the Olympic games, I wasn't really paying attention to the report. Then I heard these words, “They have done these routines so often that they can almost do them flawlessly without thinking…” The reporter pointed out that the same could be said of all the teams in this years competition, “So, what is the winning edge?”

The answer that came out of the report was “ATTITUDE.” The American gymnastic team even has a special coach whose sole function is to pump up their attitude. I stopped getting ready to to go to work and sat down to hear the rest of the report.

Half expecting to hear those old tired mantras like, “I’m getting better and better everyday in everyway,” or “I’m the greatest” I was pleasantly surprised by the approach the “attitude coach” used. There was no hype or bravado in what she was teaching these young women. Instead, she was teaching them to think and say phrases like,

“I’ve done this before and I can do it again”

“Almost finished, I can finish strong”

“I know how to do this and do it right”

The purpose of these phrases was to instill a winning positive attitude that will give the individuals the edge they need to not only excel but emerge victorious during competition. These young athletes seemed to understand that the skill level between them and other teams will be almost equal, and that their mental toughness and attitude about their ability will be the difference between winning the gold or simply settling for the silver or bronze.

This report got me thinking about the fact that regardless of what we do, often the difference between us and those we compete with (whether it is for business, promotions, getting hired, etc) is slight. And that it is the attitude we train ourselves to take in the face of adversity, challenge and competition that provides the winning edge.

Several years ago, I had a sales person who just couldn’t get it. She was bright, eager and enthusiastic, but always froze up in front of prospective clients. It wasn’t that she didn’t know her “routine” (she had it down pat and could make one heck of a presentation during role play exercises). But in the heat of competition for business, she lacked the confidence needed to go for the gold. Her biggest problem stemmed from negative self-talk when she got before a prospect. Sure, we had many discussions about self-talk, building positive attitudes, etc. but she only tried to apply it when she needed it. This young lady trained hard but failed to train herself to have the mental toughness and positive attitude required to have the winning edge.

The point of my relating this to you is that it isn’t enough to have mastered the skills required to excel in your chosen profession and to know you have to have a positive attitude to have an edge. You must constantly practice drawing that attitude into your mind so that it becomes automatic when you are in the fierce competition that we call commerce and life.

Now is the time to begin planting in your mind and using phrases like

“I’ve done this before and I can do it again”
“Almost finished, I can finish strong”
“I know how to do this and do it right”

Then you’ll have the winning edge when you go for your gold!
Have a GREAT and profitable week!
Robert Hidde
bob@confidentliving.com