Where The Battle is Won

Some years back, I was just in my first year of senior secondary school, so I tried out for the football team of my house, Green house or as we call it in G.C.I, Field House. Goal keeping was my thing, so I tried out for the goal keeper’s position and I was selected. To cut the story short, I was excellent in training but when our first big match came and I saw the crowd, I became very nervous.

The first shot that came towards my goal, trust me, i could have sworn i saw a lion coming towards me instead of a football and so I fumbled it. After that, I practically begged the coach to remove me because I just couldn’t cope, it was overwhelming for me, a lot was going on in my head and I lost it. My mind was playing tricks on me and somehow it was way out of control. So I was substituted barely ten minutes into my first game.

Ladies and gentlemen, the first place we lose or win is in the mind. The projection of the problem by the mind is often greater than reality, simply put the mind exaggerates the problem. Playing in a big match was overwhelming for me then because I just could not hold it together in my mind. I lost it because I had lost all confidence in myself when my mind overestimated the situation.

The most complex battle is the battle within. That argument that goes on within you; should I try again, should I quit, should I lie, should I say the truth, should I run, should I stay, I can’t pass, it is too hard and so on. My friends, if we are going to step up we will have to shape up and the key to that is to win the battle in the mind.

The war within is crucial. It must be won if we truly desire to move to the next level. Yes! There are problems, overwhelming tasks ahead, and we are probably at a disadvantage but honestly, not as bad as our minds are projecting it. If we can only overcome the thoughts of failure, the feeling of incompetence and that consistent urge to quit every time things go south then we would have won the first battle. Note this, our minds will amplify the obstacles but it is a war we must first win.

How do you prepare your mind if you want to always win the battle within?

Read: Reading is very important, it is not just food for the soul but an exercise for the mind. It opens the mind to vast knowledge and new horizons. Reading self development texts show you how others have done it in past, remind you it is not impossible and give you confidence you need to overcome whatever it is you are facing. Nothing wins more than an open mind, and no one improves better than a man who is always eager to learn something new.
Affirmation: Positive words go along way in improving our self esteem and self awareness. When you focus on your good qualities, it drowns your weakness. The mind feeds on what we constantly hear; negative words demoralize and make us feel small while positive words make us feel invisible. Imagine waking up and the first person you met said “you are beautiful”, trust me, you would have a wonderful day; it is a mind thing. So why not be that first person for yourself, compliment yourself and feed your mind with positive words.
Dare: I remember those days when we were still very young, we dared ourselves to put our hands over the candle light, at first we barely lasted a second but as time went on we could go over a minute. The thing is when you become daring, you don’t easily get scared and your pain threshold becomes stretched. Daring actually toughens the mind. A daring person wouldn’t mind taking risks, trying new business, going into a virgin field or even going against odds. It takes practice to toughen up the mind.
Believe: Self is one word we need to work on. Yes! Team work is good but self work is the best foundation. You can’t function well with others if you are always second guessing yourself. You must believe in yourself, I always say this, if you don’t believe in something it will be hard selling it to someone else by implication if you don’t believe in yourself you can’t make others believe in you. Each time you are not sure, you lose the Battle of the mind, in fact some people/rivals would play mind game on you so you can doubt yourself. That’s how important believing in yourself is, if you want to move to the next level.
Enjoy: Have fun doing what you do, by doing this you play down the importance of what you are doing and relieve yourself of the pressure. By enjoying what you are doing, you become more relaxed and you able to access stored memories; past experiences, knowledge acquired over the years and intuitions to guide your every step. When you see the fun side of what you do your mind eases up, you see things clearly and you make better decisions.

It would be too much to ask that you imbibe all you have read here at once but I believe you can take it a step at a time. You can overcome the fear projected by your mind, it is doable and once you win that Battle within you nothing else can stand in your way.

You are special my friend, I absolutely believe in you but please do me a favour and believe in yourself too.