Paying Attention...and Letting it Go

Do not dwell in the past, 

do not dream of the future, 

concentrate the mind on the present moment. 

-Buddha

Source:  Uncle Tim Talks Men's Gym

Wendy Bruce and Patrick Cohn:

How do you teach yourself to bounce back from mistakes in gymnastics?

• After a competition, cool down. Allow yourself to reflect on the whole competition, not just the mistake.

• Start thinking about the things you did well in your competition. Did you stick your landings the way you practiced? Did you score really well on vault?

• Start talking about the positive things in your performance. If your parents or friends came to watch you compete, tell them how great you felt after you nailed your Arabian double front.

• When you are in the middle of a competition, don’t focus on the mistake you made in the last skill. Focus on your current skill. Don’t let the mistake dominate your thinking, tell yourself that you can work on it later, but right now you need to wow the judges with your next skill.

• Remember that your performance in gymnastics does not define who you are. Gymnastics is just something you do; you are more than your performance or your mistakes.

Hat tip:  Ted Dimas

Some other worthy quotes to chew on:

“We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience.”
― John Dewey

“Many times what we perceive as an error or failure is actually a gift. And eventually we find that lessons learned from that discouraging experience prove to be of great worth.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway

“Past is treasure whether good or bad as both shapes our lives, and shapeless things have no identity....”
― Fawad

“We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.”

― Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space. 

-Johnny Cash

“Our greatest mistakes, if we look at them, and digest them, and interact with them, and learn from them… they can be the greatest moments of our lives.”
― Dan Pearce, Single Dad Laughing

“I am who I am today because of the mistakes I made yesterday.”
― The Prolific Penman