Mindset of Success

MINDSET OF SUCCESS

What makes someone a champion, not just in sports or training, but in life as well?

Success leaves clues.

Let’s hear what two-time NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Champion Gabe Dean from Cornell has to say about this topic.

According to Dean, it boils down to your willingness to learn from two things: your mistakes and your work ethic. 

Losing is tough. Everyone in life has had a defeat but a champion’s mindset is taking that loss and turning it into something beneficial by reaching yourself a lesson. Learning from your mistakes is a powerful but underutilized tool. 

People go through the day making the same mistakes over and over without ever learning from them and making better choices. This applies to the office as well as the gym. Yes, it may be hard to learn from defeat. Yes, it may be humbling but learning from it will set you apart from the rest of the pack.

Work ethic is the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. Having a powerful work ethic sets you apart from the average. 

I personally hate the average mindset of just doing enough to get by. Being able to push through and do more than expected of you will take you farther in life than “just getting by”. Being able to make weight for wrestling because your team needs you to, being able to stay extra hours in the office or school to finish a project, and doing two hours of cardio a day to get in shape for bodybuilding are all expressions of work ethic. 

True strength is being able to push through those dark moments and make yourself better every chance you can. Everyone has an opportunity to be a champion in some way. 

Exploit that opportunity and be a better person for it. Do it for your team, your job, your family – do it for yourself!