It's what you don't do

I recently watched a fascinating interview. On the show Impact Theory, Tom Bilyeu interviewed Trevor Moawad. A mental conditioning expert and strategic advisor to elite performers. In 2017, he was named ‘Sports World’s Best Brain Trainer’ by sports illustrated.  

In this interview, he highlights some compelling ideas. Ideas used to make elite performers better.  

  

Saying it out loud  

Trevor talks about the power of negative thinking. The human brain likes to think negatively (possibly a survival mechanism). A negative thought is 4-7 times stronger than a positive one. By saying the negative thought out loud increases its power by ten times. So saying a negative thought out loud is 40 to 70 times stronger than a single positive thought. You would need 40 to 70 separate positive thoughts to counteract it. That’s a lot of positive thoughts.  

He tells a story of a baseball player ‘Bill Bucker’ who made a massive mistake at the end of a World Series game. He let the game-winning run score by allowing a ground ball run through his legs.  

Now we all make mistakes. But what was more thought-provoking was the fact Trevor came across an interview with Bill. The interview took place 12 days before that game. In that interview, he says “The dream is to win. The nightmare would be, for the game-winning run to score by a ground ball through my legs”.  

By saying this negative thought out loud, he planted a seed in his unconscious mind. He also gave this seed the power to grow. And become true.  

  

The lesson:  

“Don’t say stupid shit out loud”. 

  

The past does not predict the future 

The past does not predict the future. Doing the same things you did in the past will give you the same tomorrow. Doing different things will provide you with a different future.  

Trevor shares the story of a successful magazine entrepreneur. As a kid, this entrepreneur was doing poorly. He hung around with the wrong crowd. He didn’t attend school. The kids’ mother asked him to sit the American SAT when it came up at school. When he received his results, he had achieved 1480 out of 1600 (an exceptionally high score). His mother asked if he had cheated. He said he tried, but they set the test in such a way that he couldn’t. They accepted this was his score. Recognising this, he started attending class. He began hanging around with different kids, and his teachers treated him differently. He went on to attend Harvard and became a successful magazine entrepreneur. Twelve years later, the SAT exam board contacted him. They had done a review of previous results. He was one of thirteen kids that year who had received the wrong score. He had actually achieved 770 on the exam.  

In the end, it wasn’t the SAT result that mattered. It was the kid’s behaviour. Once the kid started behaving like a 1480 kid. That’s when the magic happened. That’s what took him to become a successful entrepreneur.  

  

The lesson:   

‘Just because you did stupid shit yesterday, doesn’t mean you have to do stupid shit tomorrow’.  

  

What you can’t do  

Trevor raises the idea that choice is an illusion. He talks about how at the time, he was coaching a college basketball team named the Memphis Grizzlies. On one of the programmes, three students got arrested. He was explaining this situation to Vince Carter.    

Vince Carter is the longest playing basketball player in NBA history. Currently, at the age of 43, he still plays for the Atlanta Hawks.  

Vince Carter asked how many of these kids want to play for the NBA? Trevor says seven out of ten.  

Vince tells him the problem is, these kids think they can do whatever they want and still make it to the NBA. Vince asks Trevor if he thinks Vince himself can do whatever they wants? Trevor says, yes. Vince says no he can’t, he has a finite amount of choices. That choice is an illusion.  

He explains, to keep playing, there are certain things he can’t do. While he can still slam-dunk, he can’t continue to do it. It takes its toll on his knees. He can’t slam dunk then get back and defend. He performs layups instead.  

He doesn’t eat fast food after games. He lifts weights every day.  

  

The lesson:  

‘Don’t do stupid shit today, if you want to get where you want to go’.  

  

Takeaways  

Sometimes it’s what you ‘don’t do’ that is much more important in life.  

1. ‘Don’t say stupid shut out loud’.  

2. ‘Just because you did stupid shit yesterday, doesn’t mean you have to do stupid shit tomorrow’.  

3. ‘Don’t do stupid shit today, if you want to get where you want to go’.  

Sorry for the swearing. Sometimes a blunt message hits the mark much better than a delicate one.  

  

Footnotes  

Link to the interview here:  

Mindset Expert Shows You How to Control Your Negative Thoughts | Trevor Moawad on Impact Theory