Training the mind will allow you to do the little things, that when done on a consistent basis, make all the difference. You will create mental toughness and you will create an inner discipline. This new found inner discipline will allow you to do the right thing when others are not and it will allow you to continue to improve when others are not. Discipline is also contagious.

One of the quotes that I constantly fall back on is: "do it right the first time, every time." This is key to developing the inner discipline. When we do not do something the right way the first time, often we have to do it again or live with the sub par results. This is all fine and good when things are easy. When it is easy, we will just do it. When things are hard, when they are challenging, when we don't know where to start, we are tired, or there are temptations; that is when we skimp, and that is when we cut corners and get lazy.

That's all that it is, laziness.

Make the decision to: "do it right the first time, every time." You cannot make something that is hard easy, but you can make it less painful. We choose to make things psychologically painful when we allow negative thoughts to prevail. "This sucks, I don't want to do it." "I'm so tired, I can't do this right now." "My legs are killing me, I can't breathe, I'm not going to make it." If you think like that, you won't make it. You won't do it. You will hate doing it even if you force yourself to.

Erase Negative Thoughts From Your Mind! Do not let the weakness creep in. Every time a negative thought enters, clear your mind.

This works much better when you know your purpose and you know the end game. What are you working towards? Why are you working towards it? How will what you are currently doing get you there? By answering these questions, you begin to develop your sense of purpose. This clarity of purpose will help you drive through the hard times and clear the negative thoughts.

Simple example:

Negative thought: "here comes the conditioning drill, why the heck do we do this? This sucks, my legs are dead..."

Erase that and overpower it with the answer: "time to get better! This sucks but it will make me faster and tougher when it matters. If can do this, I will crush it in the fourth quarter. I can take longer shifts. I can get up and down the field faster, ride harder..." "Let's do this!"

If you begin to embrace this mindset and create a level of discipline that will prevail in your life. By making difficult things bearable and getting through them, you realize that they were not all that bad. You also gain a new self-confidence that only comes from putting in the work.