10 minute toughness the mental training program for winning before the game begins

10-MINUTE TOUGHNESS

THE MENTAL-TRAINING PROGRAM FOR WINNING BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS

JASON SELK

FOREWORD BY JEFF WILKINS, NFL PRO BOWL KICKER

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DOI: 10.1036/0071600639

Contents

Foreword by Jeff Wilkins Acknowledgments

Introduction

PHASE 1 : The Mental Workout

CHAPTER 1

Centering Breaths

Controlling Your Biology

CHAPTER 2

The Performance Statement

Simple and Concrete

CHAPTER 3

The Personal Highlight Reel

Seeing Is Believing

CHAPTER 4

The Identity Statement

Influencing Self-Image

Another Centering Breath and Away We Go

PHASE 2 : Goal Setting for Greatness

CHAPTER 6

Effective Goal Setting

Creating and Achieving the Dream

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 7

Personal Rewards Program

Enhancing Motivation

CHAPTER 8

Tapping the Power of Goals

Train Hard Enough to Make Competition Easy

PHASE 3 : Relentless Solution Focus

CHAPTER 9

Always Have a Solution on the Board

CHAPTER 10

The Solution-Focused Tool

CHAPTER 11

Mental Toughness

Knowing What and How to Think

APPENDIX A

Mental Training Through the Year

APPENDIX B

Work Sheets

Notes

Glossary

Index

Foreword

Jeff Wilkins

When there are two seconds left on the game clock and the difference between winning and losing rests on your ability to kick a

football through two uprights that seem to be much farther in the distance than the stats would indicate afterward, it truly takes

mental toughness to perform at your best. 10-Minute Toughness is the mental training plan I used to mentally prepare myself for the

pressures of playing in the NFL.

I believe that every athlete deserves to learn how to use 10-Minute Toughness. It is easy to understand and actually enjoyable to

complete. It helped me focus on exactly what I needed to do mentally to be able to consistently perform under pressure. 10-Minute

Toughness helped me keep a high level of confidence and simplify what I needed to stay focused on to kick at my best. It helped me

in good times, and it was also a great resource in helping me through tough spots.

When I would line up for a game-winning field goal (or any kick, for that matter), instead of focusing on how important the kick was

for my personal and professional goals and my teammates, coaches, and friends (not to mention the collective will of an entire city), I

was able to quiet the crowd and opposing team and enter the mindset that allowed me to kick at my best. I was in control of my

thoughts, which helped me to have a very successful NFL career.

I contacted Jason Selk about his mental training program because I wanted to learn how my mind could help me play at the highest

level possible. I didn't want someone trying to help me with personal issues. Not to say that my life is perfect, but I am a happy,

healthy person; have a great family; and have been blessed in many ways. Jason was great in that he really listened to what my goals

were and specifically tailored what he did to give me exactly what I wanted.

I can remember on one occasion when the Rams were down by ten points to the Houston Texans with twenty-six seconds left on the

game clock. Ryan Fitzpatrick, our third-string quarterback, led the team to a late touchdown to bring us within three points. As I

prepared for the onside kick, I remember feeling calm, confident, and focused on exactly what I needed to do. We recovered the kick

and the offense miraculously got us in position to tie the game. I would need to make a forty-seven-yard field goal to put us into

overtime.

With four seconds left on the Reliant Stadium game clock and my team losing 27-24, I took my steps back, looked up and centered

the target, took my steps over and got set, told myself to drive through the ball while my intensity and aggressiveness built, gave the

OK to the holder, and the ball was snapped. From forty-seven yards away, I hit it hard and drove the ball right down the middle to

send our team into overtime, where we would eventually go on to beat the Houston Texans 33-27 in a thrilling victory.

At the moment right before the ball is snapped—when the stadium is rocking with sixty thousand fans pelting me with every curse

and hex they can muster, the opposing coach trying to freeze me, the opposing defense ready to flatten me, and the game on the line

—it all comes together: the physical and mental training. That's the moment when mental toughness blocks out the noise and focuses

my concentration on doing my job to my greatest potential.

The thing that all reporters get wrong when they ask me about "pressure" after the game is, in that one moment, there is no pressure.

When I try to explain why, they can't fathom it, but I've been there a thousand times before. In every practice I see myself executing

flawlessly, I know the feeling of being calm and aggressive at the same time— where my mind has a pinpoint focus on the one thing

I need to do to be successful, where every muscle in my leg fires in sequence as I connect with the ball and send it sailing through

the uprights. In my mind I've practiced that kick a thousand times along with another thousand kicks with the game on the line,

during the Super Bowl, as the clock expires, or in overtime before the largest audience to ever see a game. Everything after that is a

chip shot.

The doubts everyone is curious about, wondering whether they creep into my mind, have no room in my head because I practice

controlling my thoughts the same way I practice nailing down my technique. It all becomes routine, and mental toughness is what

brings everything together.

10-Minute Toughness is what the title says—ten minutes a day that connect your talents and abilities to the outcome you're seeking.

As a retired NFL player looking forward, I can see as many applications in the business world for the toughness Jason Selk's

program brought out of me as there were on the football field.

I went to Jason to channel my skills for the big game and give myself the best opportunity to rise to every occasion, but the tools he

gave me go beyond extra points and field goals. His teaching—and by extension, this book—puts you at your best when you most

need to be there. It shows you how to put your best foot forward each time your number is called. As a kicker, I couldn't ask for

much more than that.

Acknowledgments

I would like to personally thank the Ictus Initiative for connecting me to my agent, Farley Chase; Dave Fletcher for his contributions

to the writing; Ron Martirano for overseeing the project; and McGraw-Hill for taking a chance on the book. This book is dedicated

to all of my coaches: thank you for your knowledge, support, and motivation. Special thanks to Russ and Kathy Telecky, Tracy

Steel, and Todd Beyer for teaching me about hard work and commitment. Thanks to Dr. Patrick Stack, Dr. Rocco Cottone, Dr.

Kathleen Haywood, and Dr. Marshall Colt for your professional guidance. And a very special thank-you to my parents, Jack and

Elizabeth Selk, for being the best coaches a son could ever have.

I also extend a note of gratitude to all the athletes mentioned in this book. I highly value and respect every individual with whom I

work, and I honor the tenets of confidentiality that we've established. Athletes cited have afforded me the permission and privilege to

tell their stories, which helped transform this manuscript into a living, breathing, functioning tool for individuals aspiring to further

success. I am forever indebted to the numerous athletes who allowed me to use their experiences with the 10-Minute Toughness

mental-training program in the hopes of helping others achieve their dreams.