Last week I took the easy route on preparation by tapping
into the message I had preached the day before; the good thing for me this week
is that I only tapped into half that message – there is more I want to share…
As a refresher I remind you that we discussed motivation;
making sure we “Have A Big Enough Why”
to play (live) for – concluding that as believers we should allow honoring God
to be our “Big Why.”
The second point of that “Game Time” message involved how
to practically be successful on the court, field, (life), etc. This point was
taken from the Competitive Advantage Sports Psychology website as well… The principle is to “Stay in the Now.”
“If you want to play your very best under
pressure you must train yourself to keep your focus of concentration in the
"NOW" of the performance. Mental "time traveling" always
gets athletes into hot water, causing choking and performance slumps.
Discipline yourself to leave the past in the past. Also, stay out of the future
during the performance. Don't let yourself get ahead of yourself. Take your
performances one game at a time, one play at a time, one shot at a time. The
"now" is where you have access to all your skills and great
training. If you want to win and have a great performance you can only do
that in the "NOW." Whenever you find yourself mentally leaving the
"now" quickly and gently bring yourself back.”
Did you catch that? I love the phrase “Mental Time
Travelling.” This is a problem that we all have to deal with. We are so tied to
the past and at times paralyzed by looking to a seemingly unwinnable future…
Yet this principle simply states that we need to focus on
/ deal with today / what we have to do right now… I am not sure what is in your
past; I am not sure what you are facing in your life; yet I encourage you to
take a look at today and what you can do “NOW.” God’s grace releases the chains
of the past and gives you all the strength you need for today… it (His grace)
is sufficient in time of need! (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Christ taught this principle way before the sports
psychologists got ahold of the idea. In His model Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 He
states “Give us this day our daily bread.” Notice He doesn’t mention tomorrow’s
bread… and if you look further in that chapter you will find a strong challenge
to “Stay in the Now!”
Is God your “Big Why”? If you want to honor Him today
then let go of yesterday, don’t worry about tomorrow, and make a choice right “NOW”
to honor Him in what you are doing.
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