Table of Contents
1 COVER
6 PREFACE
7 INTRODUCTION: MADE NOT BORN Laying a mindset foundation Early success does not guarantee future success The mindset to keep going Attitude nurtures talent You grow in the direction of your focus Is talent overrated? Assessing mindset variables Enjoyment matters How much practice? Many different paths Patience and persistence Early bolters and late bloomers Reasons for leaving Tough transition McDonald's to Olympics Maintaining discipline Environments that help performance Talent doesn't coach you Summary
8 STEP 1: HARNESS YOUR MOTIVATION The seven summits Action ignites motivation Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers Multiple motivators Competence, autonomy and relatedness Engagement Choices and sacrifices No one is superhuman Goal setting Benchmarking Expectation and motivation Rewards and positive feedback Self‐positivity and celebration Motivational dynamics Environment and culture Task and ego Managing motivational challenges Passion, meaning and purpose Summary
9 STEP 2: BOOST YOUR RESILIENCE Mat's mantra: Always keep riding Aim to be resilient Break it down into smaller parts Ride the roller‐coaster with multiple resilience strategies Resilience grows with an open mind A learning approach to building resilience Keep going: injuries, disappointments and setbacks Learning to lose Life challenges Explanatory style Optimism helps resilience Reflecting, reviewing, debriefing and feedback Team resilience Navigating transition and other vulnerable times Adaptive perfectionism and flexibility Summary
10 STEP 3: SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS Self‐talk: you are what you think ‘The little voice’ Technical, tactical and emotional self‐talk Positive, negative or neutral and curious self‐talk Mantras Internal or external focus Narrow or broad: switching focus Getting in the zone or flow Self‐regulation