Author: Gary Mack
| Synopsis |
| Mind Gym Book (2001) teaches us that training your mind is as important as training your body in order to perform well, especially for athletes. The author Gary Mack has also shared the journey of some of the world’s high-performer athletes and coaches in his book to help us understand the importance of mind games. |
Detailed Summary
The book is written by Gary Mack, who has motivated readers aspiring to be athletes. He teaches a lesson that your mind has a lot of influence on your success. So, just like training yourself physically is important to be well-performed, training your mind is also necessary. The author has taught us how to train our minds in his book Mind Gym.
“The desire to succeed needs to be stronger than the fear of failure.”
― Gary Mack
According to the author, you cannot succeed in every field of life if you don’t focus on developing your mind with your body. You need to focus on your body and your mind equally. Our mind starts doing better when we tell our minds to do better.
Just like we go to the gym to build our muscles, in the same way, our brain is also a muscle that requires training.
You may also like to read the book Can’t Hurt Me Summary.
Mind Gym Book Key Points
The health of the mind is as important as fitting the body. Let’s consider an example of an Athlete. Athletes do never rely only on their body fitment. They have to be sure that their mind remains best in its well-being. The book’s main key points reveal the secret of a happy and healthy mind is the key to success.
Seven C’s of Mental Toughness
Mind Gym Book teaches us that we can train our mental toughness by the seven C’s: competitiveness, courage, confidence, control, composure, consistency, and commitment.
Competitiveness. You’ll get steamrolled by people who don’t care if you just want to be pleasant, not smash into any walls, satisfy everyone, and not rub elbows. Instead of using disappointments or failures as an excuse to quit, they use them to get stronger.
Courage. The factor that allows you to compete in the first place and take risks. It’s not that you shouldn’t be concerned about your rivals. Courage involves taking risks.
Confidence. It greatly aids in being courageous
Control. The thing that all Stoics are concerned with. Forget about your limitations. Take a look at what you have control over.
Composure. What to have on hand when you’ve lost control. Dwelling does not help you progress. You know how to control your anger when things get heated up.
Commitment. Both in the short and long run. Forever and eternally. In your highs and your lows. And especially in your lows. Until you succeed.
Set SMART goals
“The probability of achieving the outcome you want increases when you let go of the need to have it.”
― Gary Mack
Another lesson the book teaches us is that if we want to achieve success, we must set our goals SMART. SMART here is an acronym that means:
S for SPECIFIC: Setting a goal for anything imprecise. A specific goal would be to enhance your goal-shot accuracy on a daily basis. As a result, the aim must be related to acts within your control (improve your kicking accuracy) rather than outcomes (getting onto the national team). If you achieve your objectives.
M stands for MEASURABLE: “Every day for 15 minutes, I will practice shot-on-goal accuracy.”
A for ACHIEVABLE: Your goals should be motivating enough to motivate you to work but not so far out of reach that they discourage you. Like set goals that you think you will be able to do it.
R for REALISTIC: You may include the achievement of your goals into your existing life’s schedule.
T stands for “time-bound.” A goal is a wish with a time limit. Each goal must be completed within a specific time frame. In my opinion, athletes should have daily or short-term goals rather than long-term ones. Breaking down your long-term goals into short-term goals is one strategy to attain them.
Life is fearless for those who Learn, Love and Work
Forget about using external yardsticks to gauge your progress. Those, by definition, are always reliant on others, so screw it. Every time you look in the mirror, you can ask yourself, “Am I living a life filled with love, learning, and labor?”
Enjoying your career is one of the finest things that may happen to you. It may take some time to develop, and it does not always make work enjoyable, but if you enjoy what you do, it is much easier to get up every morning and push through the difficult parts.
Of course, if you enjoy what you do, you will work even harder. This isn’t, ironically, a one-way street. The more you work, the more and faster you will learn to enjoy it.
Most importantly, how much work you put in is entirely up to you. There is no way to gain the additional talent, luck, or time. However, you can certainly put in more hours.
Finally, learning connects love and labor and assures that when your talent fades, you rely more and more on your brain as you grow older and less fit. The author says that life has no fear for him, who learns, loves, and works. There are only positive things to anticipate.
Who would I recommend Mind Gym Book to?
The book Mind Gym Book is recommended to those who aspire to be an athlete but only focus on training their body. The book will guide them about the importance of mind games in the world of sports.
Link: https://amzn.to/3PJHLg3