Here is an awesome piece of advice that has helped my players find the strength to stand up and be strong. A great guy in my village passed it on to me many years ago. Now I live my life by this advice, and it has helped my players develop their own sense of personal power.
Wilf Bennett is a hardworking man who has a great perspective on people. A former bull rider and author, he shared with me these words, based on an old proverb: “There are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask, ‘What happened?’” What a way to sort out those who step up when they mess up, those who talk about stepping up, and those who never step up!
You may already be the player who makes things happen, or you may want to be that player. The key here is to step up and take action. Be accountable for your actions, good or bad. Own them, and take responsibility for making progress.
You may be thinking, Why is taking responsibility important for developing my hockey confidence? Good question. Here’s why:
Ask yourself, when you blame other people for your actions:
•Does it feel good inside? Does it really?
•Does it feel like a hit to your happiness?
•Do you feel like crap?
•Do you wish you could see yourself feeling better?
•Is your confidence sky-high afterwards?
It’s okay—I know the answers, and now you do too. Putting the blame on other people prevents you from taking ownership of your part. When you take ownership of your actions, you take responsibility for upgrading your results. Start now to develop your confidence by taking responsibility for your actions and for your progress.
Let’s take a look at the story of one NHL player who took personal responsibility for his decisions and actions and used it to develop his confidence before he even got to the NHL.
It’s how we act when we mess up that turns us into champions.
First overall draft pick Nathan MacKinnon is an inspiring example of someone who makes things happen on the ice and takes responsibility for his actions. Nathan played hockey in his home province of Nova Scotia. He took responsibility to improve himself and his game and was a key factor in helping the Halifax Mooseheads come from behind in a crucial Memorial Cup game.
“He was the guy who competed all the time,” says Halifax head coach Dominique Ducharme of his star forward’s performance. “He made things happen, he was skating, he was hard on the puck, it was hard to get the puck from him, and obviously he was a big reason for our comeback.”1
Nathan took responsibility for his progress and his success, and he helped his teammates by being fully committed to getting results. The Mooseheads went on to win the Memorial Cup, and Nathan was named most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament. Later, he became the youngest player ever to play a regular season game for the Colorado Avalanche.
Now let’s see how taking personal responsibility for your decisions, actions, and progress develops into an action step that will set you on the path to building your inner strength and hockey confidence.
Setting Yourself on Fire
“You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.”
HENRY FORD, founder of the Ford Motor Company
THINK. WHICH PLAYERS do you admire the most? How did you hear about them? What happens when you watch them? How do you think it feels to be that successful? If they were unsuccessful, would you be admiring those players? Would you be watching them? Would you have even heard of them? Maybe not.
Do you think that their flame of success burned bright right from the very beginning . . . or is it possible that their success started small, just like a roaring fire always starts from a tiny spark? Do you suspect that over the years they chose to learn from the best, to grow and develop and find ways to get stronger—just like you? Absolutely! And you know what? They never stop learning.
It’s important for all of us to remember this: We all started somewhere.
There may be times in our lives when we want to be further ahead than we are. Here’s an action step that will help you move forward:
When are we at our strongest, our most confident, our most powerful? Is it when we are doing nothing to help ourselves? Probably not.
Yes, it’s good to take a well-earned break and enjoy the rest and relaxation of time off. It’s interesting, however, that after a huge amount of time out and relaxation, our brains get bored. We start to want to have things to do. It’s simply human nature to want to take action, make progress, and get results.
Now we are developing the concept of fanning the flames of your success. You could fan the flames by taking action, such as getting to the rink more often or practicing against harder opponents to improve your shooting accuracy. You could set your determination on fire and plan your social life around hockey, to make the most of every minute on the ice. Action in the right direction creates results.
Is there more to success than this? Absolutely. Here is a very simple equation that I show my players. It illustrates the two key qualities that appear time and again in successful hockey players.
Intention + Action = Results
Fan the flames of your own success and take responsibility for your progress by speaking to yourself in a way that encourages you to do better.
Fuel yourself with the fire of great intentions. Focusing on a powerful outcome, and the actions you take, with this in mind will naturally get you there quicker.
One man who used his intentions to get results was Philadelphia Flyers player Bobby Clarke. Bobby had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 13. Some of the symptoms of diabetes can include feeling tired, thirsty, and very low energy. An NHL player with diabetes has a set of challenges to overcome that are as unique as they are potentially debilitating.
Intention + Action =Results
Bobby’s intention was to be judged for his talent, not his condition. He didn’t want to be known as “the diabetic athlete.” Instead, he says, “I’m a hockey player that just happens to have diabetes . . . that’s all! Judge me how I play hockey; don’t judge me by my having diabetes.”2 He was clear about his intention, and he backed it up with his words and actions. He also became one of the best two-way forwards of all time.
So let’s take a leaf from the book of Bobby’s success and decide right here, right now, to take action. You get to decide your goals—your reasons for reading this book. Write down here the results you would like to see from using this book. What would you like to be, do, and have as a result of developing your own hockey confidence?
Here are some examples:
•I want to feel more confident.
•I want to be a stronger, more powerful hockey player.
•I want to hear good comments when people talk about my ability.
•I want to enjoy my sport more.
•I want to be more positive.
•I want to score more goals/make more saves.
•I want to have more fun when I play hockey.
•I want to be proud of my results.
•I want to be happy about how I conduct myself on and off the ice.
Now set your intention for reading this book and improving yourself.
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