Mental Fortitude - Defeating Negative Thoughts
In case you did not see the game!
The Super Bowl is one of the most watched events on TV every year. This year's game did not disappoint. The New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in overtime after coming back from a 25 point deficit. The Patriots scored 31 unanswered points.
THAT IS INSANE.
I am a Patriots fan as we know from all my posts of when I lived in Seattle. I am going to try to take an unbiased view of the game as I dissect the mental part of the Super Bowl, but let us just say that I was HYPED about winning the Super Bowl.
So-
What happened?
How the heck did the Patriots pull off the greatest comeback in NFL history and one of the best in all of sports history?
Was it talent? Players? Skill?
No- mental fortitude.
Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots, had a lesser passer rating than Matt Ryan, the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Tom Brady played terribly in the first half.
The defense of the Patriots allowed 21 points in the second quarter alone!
In the second half of the game - The Patriots turned on. They could have looked at the deficit and said, "No one has ever come back from this great of a lead - we should just try our best." Instead, the Patriots came out saying "We will not let the first half define our performance. We will win because we can."
Patriots were not busy looking at history books in the locker room during halftime. They were busy making adjustments and continuing to push to the end. They did not beat themselves up for their mistakes, they took them for learning points and growth.
They made the changes.
They changed history.
Have you ever played like the first half Patriots in your own life? Mess up all the reports? Fail tests? Forget your presentation?
I sure fail all the time. I have forgotten choreography, not picked up the steps fast enough, and have fallen.
When we look back at the Super Bowl, we do not really look at how badly the Patriots played in the first half - because what defined their performance was how they finished. They were able to beat negative thoughts, doubt, and overall sadness with hope and ambition.
My goal is to learn from and embody the Patriots' mental fortitude. Their comeback was no short of unprecedented. Everyday, how can I keep fighting? How do I continue to better myself and not get caught up in what went wrong?
Performances in sports like this past Sunday during the Superbowl are inspiring. This is why I love sports. Yes, the game and the skill are great, but the actual competition and seeing an athlete perform under immense pressure is incredible. I am not working in the Super Bowl everyday, but I still need to fight negative thoughts if I want to see progress.
Everyday we mess up.
Facts.
But how are you going to fight to finish strong?
Or-
Will you allow your defeat to define your overall performance everyday?
Win like Tom - Tom knows how to win