A Competitor's Heart: 369 Days of Development

By Jeffrey Swarr

For numerous young athletes they are searching for a path to be pushed to become great. Each competitor has the ability to be great and greatness is a daily practice.

A Competitor’s Heart is developed through a consistent daily practice of development. Each day’s message is built to develop a person’s heart to compete and become the best person possible. Put A Competitor’s Heart into your daily habit and routine and greatness will follow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Aug 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483453774

Book preview

A COMPETITOR’S HEART

369 DAYS OF DEVELOPMENT

JEFFREY SWARR

Copyright © 2016 Jeffrey Swarr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5376-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-5377-4 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 7/11/2016

CONTENTS

A Mess Becomes a Message

Introduction to Habits, Attitude, and Perseverance

27 Days to Develop Habits, Attitude, and Perseverance

Balance

Commitment

Introduction to the Next 36 days

Confidence

Confidence, Character, Trust, and Teamwork

Determination

Discipline

Dreams

Effort

Faith

Goals

Heart

Integrity

Journey

Knowledge

Leadership

Mission

Optimism

Introduction to Patience, Energy, and Purpose

Patience, Energy, and Purpose

Prepare

Present

Pressure

Pride

Quiet

Results, Enthusiasm, Process, and Selflessness

Self-Talk

Introduction

Introduction to Poise, Fear, and Toughness

Time

Unlimited

Visualization

Our mess becomes our message.

- Dr. Rob Bell, in his book The Hinge

As I reflect on my life as a competitor, a coach, the work I am doing now, my mess has definitely become my message. As a young player, I did not have the mental toughness, self-control, and faith in my abilities to perform at my peak. There was always a doubt in my mind that I could compete with those that I was against.

This mindset carried over into coaching, always looking at what other coaches were doing and comparing myself to them. This created the feeling that I needed to win each game because that would prove that I was better. This is a true definition of a fixed mindset. This did not mean that I was less than successful, just always pushing. In December of 2005, I was fortunate enough to be named the Head Baseball Coach at Millersville University, achieving a goal, to be a Head College Baseball Coach. This was the beginning of my mess, but is now an integral part of my message. I ended up spending two LONG years at Millersville, with many factors that led to us losing 37 games in 2007. Experiencing these 37 losses was the toughest thing to endure, but has been the biggest blessing, focusing my mindset on development and improvement rather than the worldly pursuit of wins and losses.

This mess has led to the message of the Heart of a Competitor. Every Competitor is called to compete in everything they do to become a little bit better each day, enjoying every experience we are blessed to have. Engage in and Enjoy the development of your Competitor’s Heart on the journey of 369 Days of Development.

Enjoy the day and grow in any way possible, knowing that your mess, even a mess of a number of losses, can become your message.

I am able to connect with you in many different ways:

Web Site: www.jeffreyswarr.com

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Twitter: @mr_swarr

John Wooden is perhaps one of the greatest coaches of all-time, regardless of sport. While the teams that he coached won numerous national championships, he focused on the process of improvement, rather than simply playing for the desired result, winning. Coach Wooden also defined success as, peace of mind, attained only through self-satisfaction and knowing you made the effort to do the best that you are capable.

Focusing on the effort to do the best you can is the first step toward success. That is where this 27-day program begins, bringing the focus on your efforts to build the three pillars of a Heart of a Competitor. The three pillars are rotated and repeated nine times over the 27 days. The three pillars are Habits, Attitude, and Perseverance.

This program is meant to lead you on a journey focusing on developing the habits of a competitor, strategies to maintain a positive attitude toward competition, and the use of your habits and attitudes to develop perseverance in your life that is essential to developing the Heart of a Champion that you can use everyday in your life.

HABITS

The one thing you cannot recycle is wasted time.

– Anonymous

Successful people understand their resources. It is easy to recognize tangible resources, like money, possessions, and even individual skills. It is increasingly difficult to value and understand that importance of time. No matter a person’s background, upbringing, or individual skills, they have access to an equal amount of time everyday, 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86400 seconds. Keeping this in mind, time is a more valuable resource than any other commodity.

Routines are the cornerstone of utilizing time as a precious resource. The routines that must be established to take control of time as a resource are the morning and bedtime routines. These are referred to as bookend routines since they are the beginning and ending of the day. While the events that occur during a day are outside an individual’s control, these bookend routines are totally within a person’s control.

MORNING ROUTINE

I woke up today at:

List everything that you did prior to leaving the house:

1.

2.

3.

EVENING ROUTINE

List everything you did after 5 PM:

1.

2.

3.

I went to bed at:

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Do you SPEND (doing things that use time) time or INVEST (doing things that will provide you with a payoff at a later time) time?

ATTITUDE

It’s not the first effort that wins; everybody gives a first effort. It’s the second effort that wins.

–Jeff Swarr

Has there ever been a game where two teams showed up to the field or court and only one of them left the bench to play the game? No, each team that shows up for the game is going to give the first effort; each team will execute as best they can. However, when this first effort is not sufficient for success, the team or individual that makes the second effort is the team or individual that will win.

Some coaches have said they cannot coach effort that effort comes from within. While effort is a personal choice and does come from within, the idea that it cannot be coached is farfetched. Bring your first, second, third efforts or however many it takes to every competition. If you are competing with yourself, these efforts are bound to make you 1% better than you were the day before.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

What situations do I have today where I can focus on making a second effort?

Did I accomplish all that I desired today? Explain.

PERSEVERANCE

When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.

– Simon Sinek, Author of Start with Why

Everyday is a competition, however, most people view their competitors as someone else. In business, people view the competition as another company; while in sports, many athletes view the competition as an opponent, or even another teammate in which they are competing against for playing time. None of these are a true competitor; the true competitor is you. The focus on a daily basis must be what can be done to improve 1% over where you were yesterday.

The beautiful part of competing against yourself is that when you compete against yourself, others are willing to help you. If a coach knows that you are focused on getting better on a daily basis, they are more willing to do what they can to push you and assist you in getting 1% better on a daily basis.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What are you going to do to COMPETE against you?

HABITS

‘All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits,’ William James wrote in 1892. Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision making, but they’re not. They’re habits. And though each habit means relatively little on its own, over time, the meals we order, what we say to our kids each night, whether we save or spend, how often we exercise, and the way we organize our thoughts and work routines have enormous impacts on our health, productivity, financial security, and happiness."

Charles Duhigg, Author of The Power of Habit

Habits are developed that become so ingrained in competitors’ minds and actions, they occur without thought. It is the job of the competitor to be aware of these habits, identify the positive ones and continue them, and most importantly, identify the negative habits and change them.

The first habit to be identified and changed is self-talk. Jon Gordon, author of The Energy Bus, writes, Talk to yourself instead of listening to yourself. This is the perfect guidance when addressing your self-talk. Many people are busy listening to themselves, listening to the negative self-talk that comes from their brain. Controlling and commanding positive self-talk is the first habit to address. Today is the day to begin talking to yourself instead of listening to yourself.

Complete this statement:

Today, I said the following to myself:

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What are your strengths, assets, your points of superiority, your best qualities?

ATTITUDE

Your Attitude is 100% of who you are!!

RIDDLE #1

Using the above Key, complete the following puzzle:

RIDDLE #2

Take the numbers that were used to create the secret word and add them together:

1 + 20 + 20 + 9 + 20 + 21 + 4 + 5 = ________

Your attitude is 100% controlled by you. You are in control of your attitude toward every activity, every problem, every opportunity. Your attitude also makes up 100% of who you are.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Did I display the attitude that I would desire in every activity that I participated in today? What would you maintain or get rid of, when considering your attitude from today?

PERSEVERANCE

I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.

- Marcus Luttrell, Author, The Lone Survivor

Marcus Luttrell is known as the Lone Survivor. In his book and subsequent movie entitled The Lone Survivor, he details the training one undergoes to become a Navy Seal. Each activity and training a Navy Seal experiences is designed to strengthen their resolve and increase their resiliency so when they are on an actual mission, they are able to make decisions without interference.

The quote above is from Mr. Luttrell’s book and is a starting point in the understanding and philosophy as to what makes a Navy Seal so strong. A Navy Seal will THRIVE on adversity, get back up every time, use every ounce of strength to protect their teammates AND accomplish the mission.

Today, search for adversity, search for a problem that has knocked you down and draw on every remaining ounce of strength to get back up and accomplish your mission.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

What problem or adversity (big or small) did you face today that you could learn from?

What did you learn?

HABITS

What is simple to do, is also simple not to do.

– Jim Rohn

The Road to Success is paved with choices and things that are easy to do, however, these things that are easy to do, are also easy NOT to do. For example, reading and working through this guide are easy to do, it only takes five minutes a day, however, it would be easy to miss a day, easy NOT to do. Each time you are asked to make a choice, remember this little thing that is easy NOT to do, is also easy to do and it will lead you to success.

Getting up early in the morning, 15 minutes earlier than you have been is easy to do; it is a small step toward giving yourself more time to prepare and attack the day. However, it is also easy NOT to do, to sleep in and get another 15 minutes of sleep.

Great competitors are built to be successful, built to accomplish, however our inner critic can keep us from taking the small step that is necessary to begin our journey to achievement. Attack each day building the habits and routines of small steps that are easy to do.

Choose to do it, choose to make that small step toward success.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What was one thing that I did today that would have been easy not to do, that will lead me to be successful?

ATTITUDE

While a positive attitude doesn’t always work, a negative attitude almost always does. Since you don’t know what’s going to happen, why not act as if you’re going to have a good day?

- Gary Mack, Author, Mind Gym

Each day you wake up, you have a choice: are you going to expect to good things to happen, or are you going to expect bad things to happen? When you choose to have a positive attitude, you will accept the day as it happens and keep moving forward, believing that everything that happens is in your best interest.

Do you show up to the arena of competition expecting to make mistakes, expecting to play poorly, and expecting to lose? The answer should be a resounding, NO!

Expect great things to happen each day, and more importantly, expect that you have the strength to handle any problem or adversity that you face, especially since this is when real growth occurs.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

This morning, I committed to having a great day. Name one thing that happened today that made it a great day.

PERSEVERANCE

There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.

- Theodore Roosevelt

Many people ask for an easy life, however, adversity and overcoming problems is where real growth occurs. Society loves the story of the underdog overcoming the odds and winning, and of the individual who has had to work for everything they have. You can come up with countless examples that make you shake your head, like Dick Hoyt pushing his son in a wheelchair through countless marathons; or Anthony Robles winning an NCAA Wrestling Championship, while only having one leg. These are a couple examples, however, when people face adversity and problems, their first response is, Why me? Why us?

Why not me, why not us? When you change your perspective and are thankful for the problems that you have and view them as opportunities for growth, you will attack the problems, rather than turn away from them. Thus, when these problems are attacked, real learning, growing, and maturing will occur.

Taking risks creates more opportunities to learn; thus you should be a risk-taker, and a problem-creator, to allow ourselves to reach our full potential.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

What risk did you take today to allow a problem to occur so you could learn from it?

What did you learn?

HABITS

An arrow by itself is flimsy and easy to be broken. However, when piercing through the air, it is strong and provides force that cannot be stopped. Once you develop your habits and routines for success, the momentum builds and a target is struck.

Simon Sinek, Author of Start with Why

Each habit is your arrow. When you begin the habit, we are producing the momentum, the small step to something big. The establishment of the habit is a small and weak step, like the arrow, flimsy and easily broken. This is what was happening when you started this Challenge, you began a daily habit, a daily habit of challenging yourself to attack each day with a positive attitude, desiring to seek and pursue greatness, and establishing the Heart of a Competitor.

You were challenged to establish bookend routines for the morning and evening. Check in on those routines, evaluate them, adjust them, and refine them to be what you desire.

Morning Routine – Evaluate your responses. What has changed?

I woke up today at:

What have you adapted in your morning routine?

Evening Routine– Evaluate your responses. What has changed?

What have you adapted in your evening routine?

I went to bed at:

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What is your arrow? What habit do you have that will start small and become big?

ATTITUDE

Some of us are like wheelbarrows – only useful when pushed and very easily upset.

- Jack Herbert

Our attitude towards constructive criticism and feedback shows a lot about our attitude and approach toward our improvement. It is important that you are aware of your need to be pushed and that you NOT become upset by this pushing. It is when we are pushed we can find out our true capacity, our true potential.

Today, focus on looking for areas that you can be pushed in, what can you get better at, for it is when we are at the edge of our capabilities that we can find our true abilities.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What did I do today to demonstrate that I was a wheelbarrow, willing to be pushed?

PERSEVERANCE

Roald Amundsen was the first man to reach the South Pole. Amundsen’s philosophy: You don’t wait until you’re in an unexpected storm to discover that you need more strength and endurance. You don’t wait until you’re shipwrecked to determine if you can eat raw dolphin. You don’t wait until you’re on the Antarctic journey to become a superb skier and dog handler. You prepare with intensity, all the time, so that when conditions turn against you, you can draw from a deep reservoir of strength. And equally, you prepare so that when conditions turn in your favor, you can strike hard.

- Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Authors of Great By Choice

Roald Amundsen is known for leading the first expedition to the South Pole. He had planned his expedition to the South Pole with great detail and great planning. He had a plan for failure; he had a plan if his plan did not work out. This is part of handling adversity: having a plan, a release or routine to go to, when things do not work out. A release is an action or routine that you use when something goes wrong.

You use a release, because you are prepared for adversity, you are prepared so you can draw on your reservoir of strength, so when the tide turns in your competition, you can strike hard.

Using a release shows your teammates that you have the Heart of a Competitor. A Heart of a Competitor desires to be an integral part of a team. Here are three ways to ensure that you and your teammates are on the same page:

1. Care about your teammates.

2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.

3. Trust Each Other.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What did you do today to communicate with your teammates and show them that you trust them and care about them?

HABITS

Understand that little steps, compounded, do make a difference. That the things you do every single day, the things that don’t look dramatic, that don’t even look like they matter, do matter. That they not only make a difference—they make all the difference.

- Jeff Olsen, Author of The Slight Edge

The little things you do on a daily basis are the things that add up. When you are doing them, they may seem like they do not make a difference, but they make a huge difference. In the world of performance, practice is paramount. It may not seem like a big deal to practice your skill for 30 minutes a day, but that makes all the difference.

Set a goal involving a skill that you would like to improve and make a plan to work on it for 30 minutes a day for the rest of this challenge. If you want to become a better ball-handler, practice dribbling 30 minutes on your own. If you want to become a better hitter, hit off the tee for 30 minutes a day.

Once you have set aside 30 minutes a day and commit to doing this for the rest of this challenge, 14 days, you will have spent 7 hours working independently on your skills. This little time set aside and then compounded daily makes ALL the difference.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What skill will you commit to working on for 30 minutes a day for the next 14 days?

Plan out your 30 minutes of work in the space below:

What will you do to prepare for this work?

Where will you do it?

When will you do it?

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

3 BY 5

SUCCESS STRATEGY FROM JON GORDON

Within our brains, it is impossible for us to be thankful and stressed at the same time. Jon Gordon coined the phrase, Too blessed to be stressed. This phrase can be used in times of stress. Think of the blessings in your life.

Another strategy that Mr. Gordon shared in his book The Energy Bus was the 3 By 5 strategy. Each day, maintain a goal to come up with 3 things that happened during the day that were blessings or successes you are thankful before 5 PM.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

3 BLESSINGS OR SUCCESS BY 5 PM

PERSEVERANCE

Every crisis offers an opportunity to grow stronger and wiser; to reach deep within and discover a better you that will create a better outcome. So while this is your crisis, what matters most is what you do with it.

- Jon Gordon, Author of The Energy Bus and The Carpenter

When people encounter a problem, many times they ask, Why me? Why us? A key to problem solving is changing perspective. Instead of asking, Why me? Why us? Ask yourself or your team, What can you learn from this problem? What can you learn from this situation? This small shift in perspective leads to a dramatic change in our mindset.

By focusing our mindset on growing and learning, you move from focusing on the problem to focusing on the solution, therefore, allowing us to learn how to be a better person, teammate, and competitor.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

Since beginning this journey, name one problem you have faced.

What have you learned from this situation/problem that you can use to become a better person, teammate, and competitor?

HABITS

The Compound Effect—the positive results you want to experience in your life—will be the result of smart choices (and actions) repeated consistently over time. You win when you take the right steps day in and day out. But you set yourself up for failure by doing too much too soon.

-Darren Hardy Author of The Compound Effect

When you focus on the process of improvement, you take control of your life. In this quote, you are reminded of the small choices and actions in your life repeated over time allow you to achieve the outcome you desire. As a result, you want to focus on the process and small steps of improvement. A common example of a small, yet positive habit in our lives is the brushing of our teeth. It is universally proven and accepted that brushing our teeth leads to a healthier life, yet some people still do not brush their teeth, while others have done it so many times they do not even think about it.

These are developed habits and consistently reinforced actions that move us toward success and achievement. Some people might refer to this as discipline and it can be developed.

Today’s goal is to choose three things that meet the following criteria:

1. Are easy to do, but also easy not to do.

2. Will help you be healthier and/or a better competitor.

Some examples are as follows:

1. Flossing your teeth

2. Shaving

3. Making your bed

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Choose three things that you will commit to doing on a daily basis:

1.

2.

3.

ATTITUDE

If we’re in a nice, easy, pleasant environment, we naturally shut off effort, Bargh said. Why work? But if people get the signal that it’s rough, they get motivated now. A nice, well-kept tennis academy gives them the luxury future right now—of course they’d be demotivated. They can’t help it.

- Daniel Coyle, Author of The Talent Code

Coaches push their players to work harder and achieve more. This pushing should be right at the edge of your abilities. There should be an uneasiness that goes with this work. As a competitor, you should be expecting and looking forward to this challenge. It is this competition with yourself, this desire to improve, that will inspire you.

The same will hold true for where you compete and workout. If you walk into a multi-million dollar facility to practice and compete, your brain will experience the feeling that you have made it, when in fact, you have not made it. You need to fight this motivational narcotic, as termed by Daniel Coyle. No matter your circumstances, it is your job as a competitor to bring it everyday, to compete against yourself to get better.

To combat this, you must fill your emotional tank everyday with positive thoughts. That is what this journey is about, a 27-day challenge to fill your emotional tank with positive energy. However, once you begin the process and establish the habit, you have just begun.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What did you do today to inspire yourself to get better? What positive energy did you place in your tank?

PERSEVERANCE

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.

-Henry Kaiser

Taking the approach to looking at problems as learning experiences and opportunities for growth should cause you to focus on improving. You demonstrate this learning and improvement, when you are faced with the same problem or situation again. This is an opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned and how you have improved.

This is where hard work comes in. When a problem or situation arises, you are being asked to work harder than ever before. This might mean a more focused approach at practice, increased attention to details, or even a decrease in something, like the amount of bad food that you eat.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Based on the problem that you identified before and what you have learned from it, create a plan for working to improve so you are prepared when faced with this problem or situation again.

HABITS

SITUATION: Three frogs were sitting on a log and one decided to jump off.

QUESTION: How many frogs were left?

ANSWER: Three frogs remained because DECIDING is not the same as DOING.

You make a number of decisions in your life, and because most of these decisions lead to actions, we often confuse deciding for doing. It is your actions that do the talking. Today, you must take action to continue to cement the daily habits of success. The last time you focused on habits, you outlined three daily habits that you were committing to doing on a daily basis. You made a decision to identify these habits as positive habits you wanted to develop. You made a DECISION, but what are you DOING to develop these habits?

Are you placing reminders in your life to complete these actions? (Post-it Notes, Background on your computer, etc.)

Have you told others, specifically your parents, coaches, and/or your teammates of your 27-day quest to become a tougher competitor?

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Choose two things that you will DO to improve your development of your habits of success:

1.

2.

ATTITUDE

Under the right conditions, ACORNS can produce millions of acorns over their lifetime. Under the wrong conditions, the acorn does nothing.

Given the right soil, temperature, water, and sunlight, an acorn can turn into an Oak Tree, which can produce millions of acorns on its own. However, there are countless acorns that do not find a home in proper soil, temperature, water or sunlight. These acorns rot and fade into nothing.

This is true for people, too. Under the right conditions, the mindset made for growth and improvement, to handle adversity, to compete, is what you need to create for yourself, that is what this 27-Day Challenge is about. The Competitor CREATES this environment. He CREATES this environment for himself AND for his teammates.

The competitor is setting the example and ensuring that his teammates know that he is there to push them, support them, and serve them. He prepares; he handles adversity because he loves adversity, loves improving, and loves developing.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What can you do create an environment of caring and development for your teammates to become a person with the Heart of a Competitor?

PERSEVERANCE

Negatives create the opportunity to come back.

– George Horton, Head Baseball Coach University of Oregon

At this point in our 27-day journey to the Heart of a Competitor, you embrace problems and view them as opportunities to learn and improve. The Heart of a Competitor embraces the negatives because they know that the negative provides an opportunity for a comeback. If you did not have the negative, you would not be provided with the opportunity to come back.

A positive attitude allows us to view the negatives as a learning experience and provides you with an opportunity to come back. A competitor loves the opportunity to come back because they know that it is not the first effort, but the second effort, that wins.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

What is a negative that has occurred over the last three days?

What opportunity did this negative provide to you?

HABITS

The unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones.

- W. Somerset Maugham

The development of self-discipline and the Heart of a Competitor begins with our habits. To date, you focused on your bookend habits of the morning and before bed routines, along with the development of discipline by choosing three things that you committed to do on a daily basis. We continue to build AND maintain these habits on a daily basis.

You must also continue to reward yourself to reinforce these essential habits because many times these positive habits do not get reinforced by anything other than ourselves and our positive self-talk. When there is little reinforcement outside of ourselves for these positive habits, you must maintain POSITIVE self-talk. Positive self-talk is also a habit, a routine. Guide yourself, remind yourself that you are a fierce competitor.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

List at least 3 of your best qualities:

1.

2.

3.

Take these qualities and create a script/mantra that you will use to repeat to yourself on a daily basis.

ATTITUDE

"Whatever I want in life, I’ve found that the best way to get it is to focus my energy on giving to others. If I want to boost my confidence, I look for ways to help someone else feel more confident. If I want to feel more hopeful, positive, and inspired, I try to infuse that in someone else’s day. If I want more success for myself, the fastest way to get it is to go about helping someone else obtain