The Right Attitude – Recipe for Long Term Success

Every boxing great had a positive attitude

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

A trait among all the greats

Any elite champion understands that times and events change, however in order to sustain your own success through the unstable times, there are things that cannot change no matter what. Among these necessities is your attitude. Think of your favourite champion, and think about their demeanour in their period of domination or success, what attitude did they convey? Most likely it was one that exuded total confidence.  A bad attitude can be detrimental to your chances of success, so if you plan and desire to be a winner, you NEED an understanding of the subtle importance of a good positive attitude. Read on if you want to develop a winning mindset.

The Domino Effect

Your attitude not only affects how you feel, but also can determine the nature of your success. A champion, or future-champion-in-training, must learn how to control his inner mental state, and in order to do this you must start to sow the seeds of success by forming an expectation of success in your mind. Those who get out of the impractical mindset of believing that true success is only reserved for a special percentage, are on the route to having a good attitude, and know that success is actually indeed earned by the small percentage of people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice.  Having the correct attitude influences you to do what is necessary, and this is what it causes a person to expect success. So many people lose motivation, or lack dedication because they lose belief in the ending that they are striving for. It is difficult to work with commitment and sacrifice, especially in boxing, if you do not believe the fruits of your labour will ever truly ripen.

Floyd’s late night training was fuelled by passion and positivity

Attitude Affects Energy

Having a good attitude is important because it creates optimism and energy. Positive energy is necessary if you plan to be able to get up at 6am and run 4 miles every-day, and do what it takes to gain ownership of those beautiful little things they call world  championship titles. You have to immediately eliminate any negative attitudes that threaten to creep up. A boxer with negative attitudes will only be doing himself harm, and is essentially allowing poison to manifest in his mind. Such an attitude will lead to a negative outlook and consequently, a negative belief system. You cannot afford to have that in the lead up to a fight and when you’re inside the lonely world that is the boxing  ring. Negative attitudes will ruin you. They take a lot more from you than what they add to you. So it wouldn’t be wise to neglect this issue.

Positive Attitudes Navigate You Through Adversity

Winning or having good experiences is significant in developing a good attitude. But what about after suffering a loss or a set back? Or what about if you do have a positive attitude, when are you most vulnerable to accidentally allowing negativity to creep in?   After a fighter loses a match, this is the most likely the time that an attitude is vulnerable to negativity. However, this is precisely the moment that separates the good boxers from the elite. We’ve heard it time and time again,  when athletes say after a loss or injury, ‘ I will come back stronger’. It seems pretty obvious, but this is exactly the type of mentality you need to be aware of, and one that you have to make sure you adopt.

Joe Louis’ attitude after his loss to Schmeling ignited his 12 year title reign

Using Rationale to Sustain Positivity

You must try to see the situation in the most logical of terms, and this means understanding that your feelings will be low, but they do not have to define what happens. From a logical point of view, was it the case that every fighter who suffered a loss or injury was then not able to rise up again? No, this is what separates the good and the great. Why can’t it be you? In fact, a really smart athlete with a good positive attitude will even go as far as to see the opportunity they are presented with it. Coming back stronger from terrible situations are what makes a man remarkable, simply because there are not many that can do it. For example, When we look back at boxing’s great history, there is an abundance of examples to prove this.

Juan Manuel Marquez had to maintain positivity to finally beat Pacquiao

The majority of careers of the boxing’s greats were defined by  how they came back from times of adversity, so let us discuss. Take Juan Manuel Marquez for example, who after being knocked down 3 times in the first round, by Filipino great Manny Pacquiao, he came back to virtually win the majority of rounds, and despite the fact the fight was a draw, many believed he won the fight. Before this fight, critics labelled Marquez as lacking in warrior spirit and also star power. But how could anyone doubt his heart as a warrior and a champion after that? Or take Sugar Ray Leonard, who after being beaten by Roberto Duran, in the rematch he had Duran quit. Sugar Ray Leonard as an example is quite an interesting one. In the first fight, SRL lost the battle of the minds with the great Duran. He tried to outfight one of the greatest intelligent brawlers of boxing history, and needless to say, it was a terrible mistake.

Roberto Duran beat Sugar Ray Leonard in their first fight in 1980

However, Sugar Ray Leonard reacted to that mistake quite possibly defined his career, in the sense that his win over Duran was one of the best performances of his illustrious boxing career, if not the most remarkable.  Sugar Ray came back from the loss and in the rematch, Duran quit after he was unable to have the success that he did in the first fight. There was no way such a feat could have been pulled off with seeds of negativity in his mind. So you see, the fighter with the negative attitude allows that mistake to define him negatively, setting a cap on the potential greatness of his career. On the other hand, a great champion (which is in all of us) seeks out the positives even when there seems to be none. He uses the situation to propel him to even bigger heights than before, spurred on by his permanent positive outlook.

Sugar Ray came back to beat Duran in their return match

Final Note

             Remember, if you want to be a champion, you must do what everyone else is not. Are they doing it? If they are, you have to do more, and you work relentlessly until you stand alone. Every single day you have is an opportunity to improve your positive attitude, so dedicate time to improving your positive outlook and the chances of your success will dramatically increase in your favour.