Bring back, that winning feelin
Woah, that winning feelin
Bring back that winning feelin
Cause it's gone,gone,gone wooooooh

- with apologies to the Righteous Brothers

As a baseball guy, I like to watch other sports for tips on baseball coaching, mental toughness, and confidence.

I watched Apollo Ono win the 500m short track speed skating gold in the last Winter Olympics. I could see the electricity rocket through his system after he crossed the line. Fists clenched, arm muscles fired, and a primal yell erupting from just above that ridiculous patch of hair on his chin.

We can only imagine what that winning feelin is like. But you know, that's not so bad. Our imagination is extremely powerful.

I'll bet if I said I'd give you a million bucks if you could right now generate the emotion he felt at that moment you could get pretty close. How would you do it?
You'd stand up, jump up and down a few times, clench your fists, fire all the muscles in your arms and legs, and let loose a primal yell. At the same time you'd visualize your winning the million dollars, or cashing in huge on some stock deal, or getting a date with Paris Hilton (or whatever would really set you off).

Keep doing these things -- I mean for real doing them, no holds barred -- for one minute and you'd be pretty close, don't you agree? You'd certainly be pumped up, you'd certainly be excited.

Would you like to feel that way? Then do what I prescribed above. Your psychological and emotional state can be changed two ways, known as the 2 F's change your Focus and your Fisiology. I know that word is misspelled, but 2 F's is easier to remember than F and a P.

Cutting to the punch line: Do you play better when you feel confident? If so, bring back that winning feelin, by focusing on times when you've felt it before. Replay it in your mind. What you focus on you feel. If you want to bring back that winning feelin, move your body (fisiology) the way you move it when you have that winning feelin.

Go for the gold today. Generate that Righteous winning feelin right now using your 2 F's and go into your day with that confident, positive energy. The alternative is to sit back and simply hope it comes. If that's your approach, you're more likely to cross your finish line today pounding your fist into the ground in defeat than you are pumping that fist up into the air in victory.

BlueWaterArticles.com: - How To Bring Back That Winning Feeling

About the Author

Tom Hanson, Ph.D. is author of "Who Will Do What by When? How to Improve Performance, Accountability and Trust with Integrity." Tom gives away more information than he should on how to get the best results from business teams at http://www.HeadsUpPerformance.com