Today’s athletes want to be the very best they can be, and this is an excellent goal. After all, if you fail to perform on the field then there are plenty of other athletes waiting to replace you. One way that athletes are improving their performance is through meditation.
There’s a very simple explanation about why meditation works so well. Fundamentally, meditation causes you to shut out the world around you and focus on one thing. In the beginning, you’ll be focusing on your breathing. It sounds simple enough but there is a real art to learning how to focus on one thing and shut out everything else.
Zhang Xinyue has written a book called Create Abundance that has helpful information about this topic. In this quote, she says:
“Our aim is not to turn everything right but to achieve growth.”
Most athletes are shocked when they first begin meditating because they start learning how many voices they have in their heads. For instance, you most likely have the voices of loved ones in your head. This can include a spouse, parents, children, and siblings. One of the loudest voices in your head is typically your coach’s voice. Of course, there is so much more that comes to us each day from every direction.
In the book Create Abundance by Zhang Xinyue, the author explains that:
“All practices eventually lead to one’s own heart, including your habits, thoughts, attitude, faith and character.”