096: Your Response to FAILURE Is the Key between Winning and Losing in Life (and on the Pickleball Court)

Nobody likes to make mistakes, trip up, fail, or miss a shot. Goofing up once is one thing, but goofing up repeatedly and driving your mind and thoughts into a pretty deep pit is quite another. Today I share a story about my recent experience at the Bluegrass States Games Pickleball Tournament in Lexington, KY, and the five lessons I learned about having the proper mindset and thought patterns during play. Before play, we must be physically ready, rested, and well-energized. During play, we need to: Foster an appropriate response to failure Be present (not outcome focused) Be intentional about each play, each shot Breathe to relax Have fun! After play, we need to assess and learn, and then move on. These same techniques help us in any area of life where we are aiming for success.  Perhaps you’re launching a new business or stepping in to a new job or position;  Maybe you’re just about to have a baby, your first one, and you feel clueless--you only know you want to be an A+ kinda mom;  Perhaps you’ve got this goal in mind, a dream of sorts, that you keep hammering away at, but it seems to elude you.  Whatever obstacles you're facing, the very best place to start is to make sure that you are watching your thought life very carefully.  Proverbs 4:23 says:  Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life. In this episode you’ll hear me share a list of about 7-8 toxic thoughts I kept repeating during tournament play that ultimately impacted my emotions and feelings and negatively affected the outcomes of the game for me.  Plus I share with you portions of what I call my listening journal. If you’d like to have a copy of the prayer, you’ll find the link for the free download in the show notes. Also, the special t-shirt for this episode says MADE TO PERSEVERE. And if you'd like to watch this episode in video, the full-length, unedited video is available on my YouTube channel --Just search and subscribe to Victoria D. Walker.  Please stay tuned! LET'S CONNECT website YouTube Facebook Community Instagram PRAYER (free downloadable) Theme-based T-shirt:  Made to Persevere (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)