Raise Your Inner Game Today with David Levin

With so many elite athletes saying that meditation is the key to performing at their highest level, it would be easy to conclude that you HAVE to do it in order to be your best.  The problem is, most people can't.  So, what to do? Does that mean they will never reach their full potential?  The short answer is no, they absolutely can.  And that's what I talk about in this week's post—how athletes can get the benefits of meditation without doing a minute of sitting. Enjoy!

I was reading Chris Bosh's book, “Letters to a Young Athlete” (which is great, by the way), and something he said reminded me how much it bugs me when people suggest you should “listen to your body.”  Now, I know what they're getting at, of course. But the truth is, it's actually terrible advice, UNLESS you add one important element.  Unfortunately, almost no one does. :-) Which is why this is one of the most powerful aspects of learning to raise your Inner Game. So, that's what this post is about—the correct way to take what your body is telling you and use it to help you be your best.  Enjoy!

There is a ton of advice out there on how an athlete can raise their game. And no surprise, it tends to say that the key is to boost their mental game.  The problem is, it doesn't say much about HOW to do that, which ultimately makes the advice essentially worthless.  I mean really, if you're trying to get someone to do something but you don't tell them how to do it, what do you expect? :-) Anyway, that's what this post is about — the reasons most mental game advice falls flat and what you can do to help YOUR athletes break through and reach their potential.  Enjoy!

Here's an interesting question: When's the best time to start working with an athlete on their mental game? First thing? In the off-season? Only when there's a problem?  I heard a great story the other day about legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, that got me thinking about that exact question. No surprise, I suppose, but I ended up with a conclusion that you might not expect. :-) Seriously though, this is actually a very important question, so I do hope you give this one a listen.  And besides, you can't really lose—even if you don't agree with my conclusion, it's still a REALLY good story. :-) Enjoy!

Negative self-talk is one of the biggest mental game problems athletes deal with, and every coach wishes they had a good way to help with it.  Unfortunately, there is a right way and a wrong way to do that, and most of the advice out there has athletes taking the wrong way.  In this week's post, I talk about the two options for dealing with negative self-talk and why one is so much better than the other. This is a super important topic, so please do give this one a listen. Enjoy!

Do you ever find yourself in an angry, dark mood — and for no apparent reason?  It's a bit of a mystery why, but it happens to all of us at one time or another.  It's frustrating, too, because it can make us say and do things that we really wish we hadn't. But what can you do, right? It's just a bad mood? Maybe not. Maybe you can actually snap yourself out of it quickly and keep from doing things you regret.  Maybe you can gain the power to operate at your highest level no matter what else is going on in your life.  And maybe here's a post to tell you how. :-) Enjoy!

Introducing our newest podcast feature, Mental Game Monday. This first post covers what it is and how we hope it will help listeners. Enjoy!

A bit of a rant from me with this one (sorry), but I get really frustrated when I hear performance coaches talk about how to boost athletes' mental game, because I know that so much of what they suggest just doesn't work for many athletes, and it doesn't have to be that way.  BTW, the reason their suggestions don't work is because they're missing the underlying skill that drives everything else.  Anyway, I get into all of that in this latest post.  Enjoy! And let me know your thoughts on what you've seen work and not work with your athletes.

This one sounds a little crazy :-) but it's actually incredibly powerful. And something you can try right away.  Here's to new heights! P.S. I've been rolling out our new platform this week, so this is only the second post on the blog. (https://www.raiseyourinnergame.com/blog) The good news is, it's a good one. :-) And there's much more to come …

Saw a tweet the other day with a quote from Michael Jordan and it just blew my mind how clear and powerful a statement it was on what it really means to be focused as an athlete.  You hear a lot about the importance of focus and how it's what sets the greats apart. But it's not often you get such a clear image of what it actually looks like.  This is one you'll want to add to your Inner Game toolbox, for sure.  Enjoy! NOTE: This blog is now hosted at https://raiseyourinnergame.com/blog/ Come visit us there!

My past three months (below). Note the three columns, Sit, No News, Coke. Those have the biggest effects on my Inner Game. Pretty much completely off track with those for over three months. Yikes. And on the left, with the running, etc, you can see the frequency slowly dropping off. The longer I slip with the negative items, the harder it is to stay with the positive ones. Could not be clearer. But the good news is, five days back on track and I feel completely different. I still want a coke several times during the day. I still want to check the news. I still have to work to make myself get out and run. Gravity hasn't gone away. But I'm back on top of it, and each little win makes the others that much easier. And the feeling is night and day. Best of all, getting back on was actually super easy. Decided, told the family, and started first thing Monday. If you've been off track, you can get back on at any time. Just pick it back up. If you're still not using these tools to manage your Inner Game, now is the time. You won't believe how easy it is, and you will love the difference it makes for you.