{"id":14911,"date":"2016-10-04T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/?p=14911"},"modified":"2026-04-01T03:29:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T03:29:06","slug":"train-brain-thrive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindful.org\/train-brain-thrive\/","title":"Train Your Brain to Thrive","content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s the 4th<\/sup> quarter of the game and the score is tied. There are 24 seconds left on the clock and the ball ends up in your hands. Your team, the fans, the GM up in his skybox\u2014they\u2019re all counting on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You take the shot \u2026 and miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the kind of pressure top athletes face every single game. The expectations are immense and the stakes are high. There\u2019s no time to get caught up in your head, questioning why or beating yourself up for a mistake. You have to stay in the game\u2014you have to focus and refocus constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where mindfulness comes in. \u201cIt\u2019s all about being present, and if you lose it, how fast you can refocus on the next play,\u201d says mental training coach Graham Betchart. His work with NBA players, such as the Miami Heat\u2019s (and slam-dunk superstar) Aaron Gordon, is all about teaching athletes at the very top of their field how to train their minds just as they would train their bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these skills are not just for sports stars, says Betchart. Anyone who needs to focus under pressure thrives through this work, he says. With that in mind he teamed up with an app called Lucid<\/a>, to share his mental-training program, including 5-minute guided practices he calls \u201cMVP\u201d which stands for meditation, visualization, and positive self-talk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how he guides his players through mindfulness so they can keep their heads in the game and perform at their peak:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Fail Your Way to the Top
\n<\/strong>You won\u2019t succeed until you first make a whole lot of mistakes, Betchart says. Know this, and you\u2019re on the road to developing resilience. But how do you muster the energy to pick yourself up and keep trying when you\u2019ve let everyone, including yourself, down? It\u2019s about self-compassion, Betchart says. And no, he admits, this is not a natural trait for a competitive 19-year-old male trying to make his name in professional sports. But it\u2019s essential to cultivate if you ever hope to let go of those things that you simply can\u2019t control<\/a>. And letting go is how you experience the freedom from doubt that lets you bounce back, start fresh, and<\/em> actually enjoy the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Know \u201cWhat\u2019s Important Now\u201d (WIN)
\n<\/strong>Mindfulness helps athletes attend to the task at hand. \u201cIf worrying about results and outcomes is where you are, you\u2019ve lost your focus,\u201d Betchart says. The same goes for thinking about what happened five minutes ago. Your actions in the moment are all that you can control. So, if you get distracted, come back to the breath, to your feet, and to what you can see directly in front of you. \u201cFight to be here,\u201d Betchart says. \u201cYou might have to come back 1,000 times, and that\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a sample of one of Betchart\u2019s MVP 5-minute guided meditations on staying present in the moment:<\/p>\n\n\n

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