The Champion’s Mindset
Today I want to talk to you about a subject that is near and dear to all of our hearts (whether we realize it or not)- winning.
We all enjoy life’s “wins”, don’t we?
We all enjoy succeeding in school, work, health, relationships, sports, and in every other aspect of our life. No matter what we put our mind, hands, time or money towards, we all can agree that we want those things to succeed and not fail. Unfortunately though, this doesn’t always happen.
Lack of “wins” in various areas of our life can be caused by a multitude of reasons, but often it is because we don’t have the right mindset. Having the right mindset will allow us to think the way we must think to be able to do what we must do to be successful. I call it The Champions Mindset, and it is a mindset that applies to all of life.
I have a minor in psychology so I could certainly come up with dozens of “mini-lessons” on this topic, but today I want to highlight just one piece of the Champion’s Mindset- persevering through failures and obstacles. I saw someone exhibit this mindset recently and that’s why I want to tell you about it. Plus it’ll give me a chance to brag on my hometown (where I lived until age 11) Kansas City Chiefs who just won the Super Bowl. Even if you are not a football fan, you can still get something out of this.
Let me set the stage for you.
It was late in the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl 54 and the Chiefs were down 13-10. They got the ball, made a few good plays, but then the unexpected happened. Their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, after being shaken up by the previous play, threw a terrible pass that went right into the hands of a 49ers linebacker. The 49ers scored a touchdown shortly after to make the score 20-10.
After this, the Chiefs got the ball back and they advanced the ball significantly. They got 26 yards away from a very badly needed touchdown, and at this point, it looked like a comeback was on its way.
Then, the unexpected happened again. Mahomes threw a pass to Tyreek Hill and it bounced off his hand and was intercepted by the 49ers. The Chiefs had the perfect opportunity to put points on the board and mount a comeback…but they blew it.
Put yourself in Mahomes’ shoes for a moment. You are 24 years old and you are playing on the biggest American sports stage there is. This is the teams first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years and you just had two chances to bring your team back and instead you threw two interceptions. How would you feel?
You’d think that at this point Mahomes would be having trouble staying confident and hopeful, but that’s not what was going on at all. As this video shows- The Turning Point of the Super Bowl it was Mahomes that was on the sideline firing up his teammates, saying things like “just believe!” and “we got this!”
Tyreek Hill, their star receiver, is even shown in the video saying that he felt really down about the game and Mahomes got him fired back up. This is what happens when you have The Champion’s Mindset- it allows you to shake off failures and keep a positive attitude so you can keep working towards victory. And when it gets strong enough, even others can be encouraged by it.
On the next play, Mahomes took a huge risk and threw the ball 57 yards against a defense that had allowed fewer throws of that length than any team in over a decade. Hill caught the pass and it put the momentum back on the Chiefs side.
After this pass was completed, the Chiefs scored a touchdown. Then they stopped the 49ers on their next drive and scored again. Then they stopped them on their next drive and scored again. They ended up scoring the most points in the 4th quarter by any team in Super Bowl history, and they did it in a span of about 6 minutes.
It was an incredible finish that few could have predicted and it was a finish that wouldn’t have been possible if Mahomes didn’t have The Champions Mindset.
The lesson here is don’t EVER give up. Don’t let mistakes, failures, setbacks or seemingly insurmountable odds keep you from continuing towards your goals. Don’t lose heart and don’t lose confidence. You never know how much of a comeback you can make if you keep believing and keep working at it.
Maybe you are on health journey or some other type of journey right now and you are feeling discouraged by something. Maybe you are feeling bad that you made a few mistakes. Maybe you see a “score” that looks insurmountable in the amount of time you have left on your “clock.” Whatever it is, do what Champions do- keep believing, keep working and keep pushing. Victory is waiting for those who persevere.
Blessings and success!
Chris