FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES SEPTEMBER 2012 63
e
Sports Psychology
A Key Mental
Characteristic of
Superior Athletes
By Ann S. Reilly, Ph.D.
This column is dedicated to Sarah Greenhalgh, who was
senselessly murdered Monday, July 9, 2012 in her home in
Upperville, Virginia. Sarah was a vivacious spirit, who always
was herself. The following quote by Steve Jobs, personifes the
way Sarah lived her life. Unlike Jobs, Sarah did not know her
life would be limited. Sarah loved life and lived the way she
wanted to.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s
life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results
of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions
drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have
the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow
already know what you truly want to become. Everything else
is secondary. The only way to do great work is to love what you
do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As
with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you fnd it.
--The late Steve Jobs, Co-Founder and CEO of Apple
Becoming the person whom you want to be is not an easy
endeavor. Superior athletes have learned how to ignore the
pressure from others’ expectations and follow their inner destiny.
Often, pressure from others prevents us from developing the
ability to listen to our own inner voice. You may hear others
telling you what you should or should not do and not have a
clue to what your own inner voice is guiding you to become.
From an early age, parents can encourage their children
to listen to their inner voice by asking them what that voice
is saying about them. Usually, it is the parent, teacher, other
family members, or friends who are the false inner voices of
children. It is especially important, starting at the age of 8 or 9
years, to teach your children how to listen to their inner voice.
By doing so, your child will develop independent thought,
confdence, trust in him/herself and the ability to follow their
heart and intuitions. When children are allowed to do these
things, they become happy, healthy, creative human beings.
It does not matter how old you are: today is the frst day of the
rest of your life. You can make the choice to listen to your inner
voice and live the rest of your life following your heart, soul and
intuition. Take 20 minutes out of your day, sit quietly in a place
where you feel connected with nature - by a tree, stream, pond,
or with water in a bath or shower. Clear your mind and focus on
connecting with your true, authentic self. Don’t force it. Just be
quiet and listen. At frst you may hear nothing at all; but as you
do this daily you will become connected to your inner self, this
quiet time will guide you to the connection with your heart, soul
and intuitions - ultimately to the person you truly are.
Muster up the courage to experiment while following your
intuition and inner voice. You make the choices that you believe
are right for you. Through this process you will learn a lot about
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