Mind Gym : An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence

I can agree and understand some of the other reviews stating it “jumps around from story to story,” and how they say it lacks more “practical application,” etc. But the stories are what makes this book relatable as well as engaging to read. This book gives you the tools to practically apply, and just he says in the book, it’s all up to YOU. This book does give you the tools to create your own “Mind Gym.” Everyone learns differently and maybe some people prefer a step by step boom this is how you create your “Mind Gym,” and boom this will happen...But this book is fantastic. It causes you to REFLECT and the stories remind us that not much does separate us from the greats. It reminds us that mental toughness is everything. It reminds us how much we can accomplish if we win on the battlefield of our minds. If we plan, if we visualize, if we want something bad enough, if we work hard enough. If I had this book in high school, my passion for soccer would not have been so influenced by my awful coach. I would have had the tools to conquer my mind rather than constantly seek after his approval which resulted in a complex for the sport that killed my passion. This book is powerful. Life changing for me. We all know that “if you believe you can achieve” and it’s simple to hear or say, but this book is not that simple of a statement. It’s deeper, it’s uplifting, and gives you the tools to implement for yourself. I don’t understand some of the other reviews stating there’s not enough practical application because I think everything in this book, when applied, will change your life. I recommend this book especially for younger athletes. I will recommend this book to everyone all for the simple fact that I wish I had this book when I was making college decisions, and when it mattered most. I am so thankful even now, to have found it. I love this book. I’ve played sports my entire life and I’m ready to get that competitive passion for sports back. This book will contribute to that.

“Studies have proven that mental training will not only enhance performance and improve productivity but also add to your enjoyment. Whatever your age, whatever your game, you can learn how to stay focused. You can learn to deal with adversity. Stay motivated during difficult times. Avoid fatal distractions. You can learn how to follow your dreams and live your life on purpose. Achieving inner excellence is a process. Building mental muscle, like building physical muscle, requires time and effort. The more you work on the inside, the more it will show on the outside... Think of this book as your mind gym. Read the lessons, do the exercises, and answer the questions. If you do, you will acquire the skills needed to create the ideal mental state that will allow you to rise to the next level and perform at your best by choice rather than chance.” ~ Gary Mack from Mind Gym We go the gym to get our bodies strong. Gary Mack tells us we need to go to the mind gym to get our minds strong. I like it! Gary is a leading sports psychologist and this book unpacks “an athlete’s guide to inner excellence.” If you’re into sports (like me!) you’ll enjoy all the great quotes from recognizable athletes plus the sports stories that bring Gary’s stories to life. Either way, these ideas are absolutely applicable to whatever game we’re playing. Whether we’re creating a new business, a piece of art or raising a family, we need to get our minds right. Let's explore some of my favorite Big Ideas: 1. A.C.T. Backward - To move forward. 2. The Goal Straircase - Step by step by step. 3. Limits - Begin where vision ends. 4. Breathe and Focus - #1 way to deal with stress. 5. Confidence - It's the bottom line. Here’s to living in integrity w/our highest ideals as we hit the mind gym and optimize our lives, More goodness— including PhilosophersNotes on 300+ books in our ​*OPTIMIZE*​ membership program. Find out more at brianjohnson . me.

I wish that I had come across this this book when I was 10. Boy it would have been the biggest difference in my life as I struggled so much mentally when playing baseball. The author makes an outstanding presentation of all the challenges an athlete faces when performing in and outside of the playing area. I bought this book after a friend of mine let me read his back in 2007. It was certainly a game changer as I was playing college baseball in the USA. My favorite topics are The Fire Inside, Between the Ears, and Fear Lives in the Future. Why? Very simple: you need to pay attention to that inside of you that calls you to do great things. Next, everything is dealt on your mind, between your ears, master that and you'll do great things. Third, if you are in the present moment, you'll have no fear and you'll enjoy life much better. Parents, read this carefully. If your child is involved in sports, this is the most important book you'll ever come across. Take it as the bible of performance because it focuses on the person's mind. Buy this book and try to go over it on a daily basis with your kid so he can develop a strong mindset, which will carry not only in sports but in life in general. I wish I had this book at 10 not at 22! I battled so many things because I didn't have the right knowledge to handle them. If you are an athlete or a parent of an athlete, get this book and you'll never regret it. If you were to ask me, hey should I give my son 5,000 dollars or this book. I'll say if you can do both, great, but if I were to choose, I'll pick the book. It has too much value that carries over a lifetime.

Back on March 12, 2010 I read the book Mind Gym by Gary Mack. I failed to realize that I actually wrote up a review on the book then until just today when I finished reading the book for the second time and went searching for my notes. Reading my review from back then I realized that the book gave me the same type of feeling and thoughts. Being in a new place in my life this goes to show the power of this book. It was written in 2002 and many things have changed since then, but one thing that remains the same is the power of a positive growth mindset. Gary Mack shows through example after example the power of how he has helped athletes overcome various issues. Actually, he shows how athletes have helped themselves overcome various issues. The book is all sports based, but I cannot help but emphasize that these ideas work for everyone and should be taught not only in sports, but schools as well. When I finished reading this book I had 67 highlighted passages. Reading my review this was the first Kindle purchase for myself and obviously did not see the benefit of highlighting back then. I would have loved to seen what I highlighted four years ago. I would like to share a few that I really enjoyed. Stan Musial said, “When a pitcher’s throwing a spitball, don’t worry. Don’t complain. Just hit the dry side, like I do.” I love this quote. I was just talking with my wife how easy it is to form bonds over negativity. Anyone can complain and whine about things in life. It takes leadership and a growth mindset to separate yourself from this talk and move towards seeing how we can help make things better. That is the challenge. Arthur Ashe said, “You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.” Once again this applies to life in general. So often we focus on external causes and things we cannot control. If we develop a mindset to work through ourselves and finding solutions in this manner we will be better off. “The paradox is that sometimes you have to get worse before you get better.” The harsh reality none of us want to admit and therefore the reason many of us stay in our comfort zone and don’t work for change. It is just too hard! This is a must read book! I recommend for anyone. The only issue I have is that some of the people he profiles are not longer considered amazing based on things that have come out recently. Bruce Jenner, Mark McGwire, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods are a few that don’t hold the same prestige as they did a decade ago. But don’t let that get in the way of the tip and techniques he shares to empower your mind.

I love this book! I'm not a reader. I wish I was, but i have a hard time getting into reading. However, I purchased this book from a recommendation from an professional athlete. I wanted to learn more about how to mentally help my son with the sports he plays and to help eliminate his negative self-talk. I found this book to be an easy and quick read. Again, remember I don't like to read and I actually enjoyed reading this. I even went thru and made notes, underlined important sayings, quotes, and pieces of advice that are not only good for my son, but are also good for me to remember too. There is sooo much good information summed up in this book that I will keep it as a reference to come back to in the future. I highly recommend it!

My twins private trainer wanted this for one of them who keeps getting in her head while tumbling and then gets upset when she can't land some new skills.. disrupts the process. She said its a great book so far and Ibhave seen a difference on her thought process!

Still useful. On cornhole I needed some guidance on the mental game. Adjusted my attitude towards missed shots and started having fun again. Even practicing feels better because I understand now on failings, there is still learning going on and although my improvement is slow, it's still improvement. Even started hitting an airmail now and then at about 20% but considering I was hitting near zero and extremely reluctant to even try, night and day in my thinking. However I was disappointed in the almost nil exercises talked about. Enjoyable stories.

perfect gift

Nello sport, come nella vita, con il giusto mindset si possono ottenere eccellenti risultati. Questa semplice guida, aiuta a comprendere l'impegno necessario per ottenerlo. Seguirla, passo dopo passo, può essere di grande aiuto.

Fantastic book! Sometimes I felt little disconnected as author is using a lot of baseball and golf terminology, which I don't understand that well. Although, I have always been able to get a point. This is not your "Yes, you can do it" motivational book as you can find in every bookstore. This is seriously great look into minds of professional athletes. It takes you trough their struggles and how they were dealing with them.

Un excelente libro para deportistas. Muy recomendable.

Me ha costado sacar toda la esencia del libro porque la verdad es que de baseball conozco más bien poco y aunque los nombres de los jugadores y sus hazañas pueden ser bien conocidas, muchos ejemplos y metáforas se me escapan. De todas formas se pueden sacar muchos puntos favorables en cuanto a la necesidad e importancia del entrenamiento mental, así como frases conocidas sobre este tema.

All athletes, of all ages and all sports should read this! Bought for my 12 year old daughter, she re reads it often, there’s so much positive info, great read