Releasing the Beast Within: A Path to Mental Toughness

By Rowland McGabhann and Barry Squires

Guess you’re wondering what is meant by ‘releasing the beast within.’

The ‘beast’ is that abundance of untapped potential hiding beneath the surface. It’s that special someone that lives within all of us, a person we only usually meet in times of extreme emotion. A person who is capable of amazing things, far greater than they or anyone else could imagine.

Yes, we are talking about YOU!

This book is uniquely designed to enable you to access your ‘beast’ within, and show you the path to mental toughness, which will help you to:

• exceed all your expectations
• achieve your life’s goals/dreams
• find perfect balance in work and play
• develop greater resilience to life’s challenges
• create the ‘right attitude’ for your success

And most importantly, have some fun along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DoctorZed Publishing
• Release date: Mar 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645249729

Rowland McGabhann

Rowland McGabhann is an ex-pat Irishman living the life of Riley in Adelaide, Australia. He is the author of the bestselling book, Releasing the Beast Within: A Guide to Mental Toughness. I’ve Got a Plan For That! is the next installment following the adventures of the Savage Brothers that began in Come 'ere I've got an Idea.

Book preview

Introduction

Do you want to leap over tall buildings in a single bound? Have boundless energy? Feel capable of achieving anything? Have the strength and resilience to bounce back from the inevitable setbacks and moments of self-doubt?

Of course you do. The truth is, none of us knows what we are really capable of achieving. You have within you a hidden store of strength waiting to be realized! In this book, we will explain how Rowland tapped into this treasure chest, and will help you to do the same.

Releasing the beast within!

This book is about Y.O.U. What do we mean by this? You Operate Uniquely. The person you are now is a result of your own unique experiences. But how well do you know YOU?

Where this book differs from other ‘self-development’ books is that that it will stimulate an awareness of your own special skills and qualities to create favorable outcomes. This is achieved by our unique three-dimensional approach:

(1) You will take an emotional journey into the life of Rowland McGabhann who put into practice all the principles relating to mental toughness.

(2) Sport Psychologist, Barry Squires, provides an in-depth analysis of how this was achieved, and helps you to understand how you can apply the same principles in life, work and sport.

(3) Throughout the book you will be encouraged to reflect on each section through some interactive questions, tips and tasks which will help you to tap into your hidden strengths. You will find a page with the heading ‘your turn’ after this section. This is your ‘mind break’ time to reflect and work on YOUR responses. To ensure you put it into practise, do it NOW!

We hope you enjoy the journey - the journey that is your life. LET’S GO!

Introducing The Authors

Rowland

Being born in post war Europe, and from the back streets of Dublin with only six years of schooling, together with the fact that I was dyslexic, skinny and had a stammer, was not what was normally considered the ideal background to succeed in life. My parents were good, hardworking people, trying their hardest to feed three boys. Life was hard for them, and the loss of two baby girls left them very disillusioned.

So when I would come to them with my dreams of sport and travel, it was understandable that they would try to discourage me and try and influence me to get a job. But never discount the power of a dream. Even when I got a job, I never gave up on my goal.

My reason for writing this book is in no way to glorify myself, or to suggest that there was anything special about me. Rather, I wish to show that when the dream is big enough, the facts won’t count.

All that we write in this book has been tried and proven by myself. Does this mean it will work for you? Well the good news is, it is up to you. The bad news is, it is up to you. I will say this. If a skinny kid from the back streets of Dublin can go out and fulfill his dreams, anybody can. So what’s your excuse?

I could tell you of all the setbacks and heartbreaks along the way. I could also tell you of all the wonderful times. But this is not about me. This is about YOU.

I believe that where you start out from is of no importance. What is important is where you are going, and this is firmly in your hands, regardless of circumstances. The fact that you are reading this is perhaps the first step, and that is all it takes - one step at a time. You set the pace and remember to have fun along the way. I did and still do.

A dream is just a dream-colourless without form, substance or shape - without the one magic ingredient, ACTION!

Barry

Like Rowland, I came from an ‘unlikely’ background. I spent my formative years on a market garden in the Adelaide hills, and have great memories of my schooling at Uraidla Primary, Oakbank Area School, and Adelaide Boys High School. I somehow wandered into the field of Physical Education purely because of my love for sport and physical activity. Physical Education was a relatively new discipline, and I must admit that when I began my studies in it, I didn’t really know what it was. I knew it had something to do with sport, and that was enough for me.

By the mid 70s I was training future PE teachers and became intensely interested in fitness and conditioning of elite athletes. It was during my time as fitness coach at the Glenelg Football Club in the SANFL that I became acutely aware of the immense part that the mind played in achieving peak performance, and I set about to explore the fascinating field of mental training and sport psychology.

This led me to Sweden where I spent a memorable year with my family, living and working alongside the eminent sport psychologist, Lars-Eric Unestahl and two other wonderful people in the mental training area, Lars-Gunnar and Elisabeth Solin.

Since then, I have worked with numerous teams and individuals, helping them to maximize their potential, primarily through thought control. I still regard myself as an educator, raising athletes’ awareness and providing them with skills to be the best that they can be.

Piecing together this book with Rowland has been an adventure in itself. There aren’t many in this world who have followed their dreams and led such an exciting life as Rowland. There are still fewer who have shown such mental strength in overcoming a ‘shaky’ beginning, adversity, fears, and life-threatening situations. I have attempted to use the example of Rowland’s mental fibre in coping with everything that has been thrown at him, as a springboard to discuss elements of mental toughness that can make us much better performers in life, work and sport.

Chapter One

Fact and Fiction

FICTION: You are a passenger in life reacting to events as they happen and over which you have no control.

Many people believe that their future is pre-ordained and that all they can do is to make the best of what is laid out for them.

FACT: It is true that we have little control over how life unfolds. What is also true is that we have absolute control over how we respond to events as they happen. So our future is not set. We are constantly defining it by our thoughts and actions.

Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment.

The Law of Intention and Desire

Does that mean we can achieve absolutely anything? No, but we can certainly achieve much more than our current beliefs allow us to. Studies have shown that the average person operates on 25 to 35 percent of their physical and mental capacity at any given time. (Myers, The psychology of man)

Now all