5 Key Emotions All Winners Overcome

Winning can be considered a game whether it is in sports, business, taking exams or in a career.  Your thoughts, feelings and emotions have a significant impact on how well you will perform during these areas. In order to be a winner at anything you must learn how to overcome the following 5 common emotions:

1) Overcoming Frustrations:

Athletes can become easily frustrated when they don’t succeed or compete to the best of their abilities. It is important for athletes to understand that their frustrations serve a bigger purpose in the long term picture.  Winners honor the struggle, suffering and challenging emotions by understanding these moments will ultimately help them grow into a better person in all dimensions. Replace the word “frustration” with being “fascinated” with the areas you now see you may have been neglecting that you can now learn from and grow.  Your success, goals and dreams are on the other side of frustration so you must become fascinated with the process to overcome them.

2) Overcoming Rejections:

When you are in the pursuit of chasing your dreams it is very likely that you will encounter numerous rejections from others which often brings out the feeling of pain within. Winners understand the law of averages and that if they are receiving lots of “no’s” it only means that they are getting closer to a “yes”.  The law of averages can be defined by the following simple formula: SW + SW + SW = SW (Some Will, Some Won’t, So What, Someone is Waiting.)

There are numerous examples of professional athletes, celebrities and those we define as being famous who went through several rejections before becoming successful. One of the most common examples in athletics is the story of Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team.

3) Overcome Complacency:

Living in the comfort zone can be the enemy of achieving any goal or dream.  When you feel comfortable you will most likely not change and if you don’t change you will not grow.  Winners understand this and are not afraid of being persistent in the process even though there is always a chance it will not guarantee success.

“If you want to get somewhere you have never been before you need to do something you have never done before.” - Thomas Jefferson

4) Overcoming Fear of Failure:

Winners fail intelligently by understanding failure is a resting ground and not a nesting ground. Winners also understand that failure is just another opportunity to learn not something that devastates them or puts them back into their comfort zone.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  - Wayne Gretzky

5) Overcoming Pressure:

We live in a society where we are constantly placed with demands from employers, coaches, family, teachers and our peers.  We also have to compete with time, quality, performance and consistency.  As an effect pressure seems to be increasing on us which can often result in feelings of nervousness, stress and anxiety.  Winners on the other hand embrace pressure as something that motivates them and creates a sense of urgency. Changing your thoughts about something will change the way you feel and act when you come in contact with them.  So instead of associating pressure as something that makes you nervous or scared.  Redefine pressure as a great opportunity to showcase your training and something that excites you. This will allow you to become energized when you’re faced with pressure in the moment, which will ultimately increase your potential of performing at your best.

“Pressure is a privilege.” - John Smith – US Olympic Gold Medalist

Master these emotions by using them to your advantage and you will become a winner for life.