I hope this newsletter finds everyone starting their school years off on the right foot. In this edition, you will find Jon Gordon’s, “10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, School, and Team with Positive Energy” taken from his book “The Energy Bus”. I know many of you have already read it or have at least heard me talk about it. If not and you are looking for a great book to get you going, I encourage you to try it. For more information, click on my Book of the Month and read Whoa What a Ride https://r2lc.com/whoa-what-a-ride/. Whoa What a Ride is a coaches’ story on how the book and Refuse2Lose Coaching helped her transform her team into a positive, hardworking, united team.
Also, I have included a tip on communicating with your team, staff, or family and a mental toughness challenge to test your team.
“10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, School, and Team with Positive Energy”
1. You’re the Driver of the Bus
You control where you are going and what you want to do with basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, school, etc; you control what goes in your brain- positive or negative;
2. Desire, Vision and Focus Move Your Bus in the Right Direction
You don’t just get in the car and drive, you know where you are going and usually how to get there right? In sports, you need a dream/goal, then you have to see it and then focus your energy and efforts on it.
3. Fuel Your Ride With Positive Energy
Your bus is fueled with free gas-Positive thoughts and actions are the fuel for your bus (food for the brain). Use rubber bands to help remind you to be positive.
4. Invite People on Your Bus and Share Your Vision for the Road Ahead
Share your goals and dreams with your teammates/coaches/friends/family- this is your journey together. They can hold you accountable.
5. Don’t Waste Your Energy on
Those Who Don’t Get on Your Bus
Don’t let others in your life keep you from your dreams by saying it can’t be done, by making negative comments about your passengers (teammates), or by just draining your time and energy. Think of people in your life that aren’t on your bus- can you get them on your bus or do you need to apply the next rule:
6. Post a Sign That Says “No Energy Vampires Allowed” on Your Bus
If someone is taking your energy kick them off your bus.
7. Enthusiasm Attracts More Passengers and Energizes Them During the Ride
When you are enthusiastic more people want to join you and it provides energy for them as well- feeding others brains positively. How are you going to do this? Are you the clown that makes everyone laugh and keeps them loose, are you going to be the most supportive teammate, or the responsible one, or the encourager? Are you going to be the most positive or perhaps the leader?
8. Love Your Passengers
When they are negative or down is when they need love and support the most.
9. Drive with Purpose
Have a purpose every time you step on the court/field. Know where you are going and how you are going to get there.
10. Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride
Finding the positive, sharing it with others, conquering adversity and supporting each other make the ride more memorable. You have decided to play your sport. You have to practice on average 2-3
hrs a day. Why not look forward to it, make the most of that time. Enjoy the journey!
A simple way to increase positive energy and communication is to let a teammate or one of your players know you noticed something they did in practice or a game, to say “congrats”, to show appreciation, or just to let them know you are thinking of them is to send a brief email or text. It is amazing how such a simple act can send such a strong positive vibe and make someone’s day. We all love to receive compliments, encouragements, and so forth so why not make someone’s day. Try to send 1 person a day just a brief note (if you can’t think of anyone, I’d love to hear from you J).
Need an easy way to challenge your players mentally? Try various exercises weekly or daily to test their toughness. Today’s mental toughness challenge is a wall sit. A simple exercise
that everyone has had to do sometime in their life. The challenge is to see how long they can go. Encourage them to not be the first one to drop out and not to drop out once others go down. Encourage them to push themselves past their limits, to go 10 more seconds once they think they can go no more. Reward the last one standing (I mean planking) and time permitting see how long they can go. Keep a record and challenge them later on in the year to beat their times.
Keep refusing 2 lose,
Tami