Psychologist Alia Crum tells a story from her early days as a competitive gymnast: an injury at a regional competition threatened to disqualify for nationals.
She had arrived several days early for the competition and proceeded to rehearse her routine. Unfortunately, in the course of practicing, she slipped up and her ankles knocked together hard. She was left in tears.
Although there was pain, she did not want to accept defeat and bow out, so she iced her ankles and spent several days mentally rehearsing her routine rather than physically rehearsing it. Her parents encouraged her to understand her injury as a minor setback which need not derail her hopes.
Crum says that when her time before the judges arrived, she felt no pain. She was able to execute her routine flawlessly and was relieved and overjoyed to qualify for nationals. She went home victorious.
Perhaps you can guess the postscript to the story.
A few days after the competition ended, Crum had her ankles x-rayed.
One ankle was clearly broken.
Her point in telling the story now is not shlock about pushing through pain or anything like that. She realizes that she could have done serious, permanent damage to her ankle if she had not eventually tended to the break.
No, her point is simple and profound: your mindset exerts great influence over your life, even if it is not rooted in "reality".
The beliefs you hold about your current circumstances play a major role in shaping your performance and, thus, your experience.
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