Inspiration

So I was reading this article about Rocco Mediate (for those of you who don't remember, he is the one who lost to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open last year). The article was talking about how you would never know this was the man that lost because he handled it so well. Since that day, he has received floods of emails, but this was his favorite:

Rocco:

On May 30, 2008, my youngest daughter, Allison, was on the way home from [high school] graduation practice when she was involved in a wreck. I forever lost her that day. Friends and family who had come to see a joyous event … ended up attending a funeral.

Losing a child is every bit the hell people say it is. The days that followed were the darkest of my life. I stayed at home … and I found myself watching the [golf] tournament for some unknown reason.

Slowly, I became captivated. I found myself pulling for you—and I had never even heard of you. I got something out of the way you handled the outcome that I'll never forget. It's something that helps me to this day. You showed me that it is possible to lose and yet not be beaten.

I have lost and lost big, but I am not licked. That Monday was a big day for me. I picked something up that helped me get back on my feet that I still lean on. It was not only what you did but how you did it—with grace, poise, dignity and charm. Watching the highlights made me remember and prompted me to say thank you.

--John Ray, Longview, Texas


This is a perfect and powerful example of what I mentioned in an earlier post about being able to choose your attitude in any situation. Even when it seems we are in the worst possible situation, you always have control over how you choose to respond.


Here is the link to the article on Rocco if you are interested.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4226689

Subconscious Mind?

Right now I am reading a book called Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill. It's fairly old but has some great ideas. One thing I found that was very interesting had to do with the subconscious mind. The author states that if you persistently tell yourself something, eventually your subconscious will believe it to be true and will act on that thought. For example, if you tell yourself over and over that you are going to ace an upcoming test, eventually your subconscious will believe it and force the body to do everything possible in order to make that idea a reality. On the subversive, if you tell youself that you will fail over and over, you will not study and will not be prepared for the test.

I know the idea can seem far-fetched, but according to Napolean Hill, hundreds of studies have been done that prove this to be accurate. He recommends that you write down a sentence to say out loud twice a day ("I am going to ace my Spanish test") and to focus on that idea as much as possible throughout the day. So think of something you want to accomplish and convince yourself that you can do it.