LEARNING WITH THE MASTERS - PART 1
By Sabrina Rodríguez
I had the privilege of training with Luciana at her former place in Wachtberg, Germany & share a fascinating Clinic at home in Argentina. The mental side of it all captivated me. It was present in the butterfly exercises & jumping, the physical, technical, tactical, course preparation & ultimately, the competition. Being able to learn from this Champion of Champions definitely changed my mental game forever. Although she needs no introduction, lets get to know her a little more in depth.
Luciana participated in 3 Olympic Games - Athens (2004), London (2012), Río de Janeiro (2016) & will be representing Portugal in Tokyo 2021. She took part in 2 World Equestrian Games, 5 European Championships, countless Global Champions Tours & Grand Prix, 5 World Cup Finals of the 6 World Cup Tournaments she jumped. She's an athlete, a mother, entrepreneur, influencer, role model, member of the Showjumping "Team Portugal" & author of two books. "Fit4Gold", an Olympic diary in which it is possible to meet an intelligent, daring woman, who does not bow to defeat, as shown in the OJ in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, when she competed with the Hanoverian mare Fit for Fun. And, "Jump 4 Your Dreams!" This 300-page book "connects physical, emotional, and technical fitness and well-being with specific jumping exercises...With generosity of spirit, Luciana outlines challenges she and other riders experience in the sport". And we are going to dive in it to learn about her riding philosophy & mental training for us to understand how is the making of a multi-Olympian queen.
I broke the article in two parts. First, we will plunge into the MIND & BODY CONNECTION. Secondly, into her ACTIONS & HABITS. Luciana shared in her book "JUMP 4 YOUR DREAMS!" three very interesting stories that brought a lot of thinking & focus to her. That when you stick to your dreams and goals the impossible becomes possible one day. One in particular called my attention because it's part of what I, as high performance sports psychologist, explain to all the athletes I work with, THE PROCESS. It's a story by Brazilian author Wallace Leal Valentin Rodrigues which she translated as "The Butterfly".
"The author, as a small boy, was shown a chrysalis by his mother. This beautiful, mysterious form hangs from the stalk of a flower in the family garden. 'The butterfly is moving inside,' the boy's mother says. The boy is impatient. He takes his knife and cuts open the delicate structure housing the butterfly's metamorphosis. But what he finds is neither a larva nor a butterfly, but something in between, that soon dies. The boy is sorry and sad. His mother explains to him that for some very important changes in life we have to be patient."
Now, lets DIG DEEP INTO HER MIND, shall we...
TO THINK HER BEST AND KEEP HER MIND ACTIVE, STRONG & HEALTHY LUCIANA STARTS WITH THE "PHYSICAL" SIDE OF HER
ACTIVE BODY
Physical activity is crucial for improving our thinking and feeling.
Science has established that physical activity improves mental function. Exercise has a profound impact on cognitive abilities and mental health. Through physical activity, we can balance the soul, mind, body, and emotions.
ANXIETY
For Luciana, anxiety is a compulsion to do everything at once. To multi-task. She works hard to make sure she does things step by step, in the right order. Keep the cart where it belongs, behind the horse.
Prioritises what is most important & take it step by step. Get into the habit of making pit stops and rest stops along the way.
AWARENESS
Accept who we are.
The brain is a muscle, so she remembers to exercise it.
Self-confidence comes on its own when the mind stops judging the body.
BEING AN ETERNAL LEARNER & DREAMER
We can follow our dreams and use our setbacks to achieve them.
We win sometimes, we lose sometimes. "If I never experienced losing, how would I know what I can achieve?"
The only competitors who never fail are those who do not try.
Don't be afraid to break taboos, to overthrow paradigms. Believe in the ultimate of your potential.
Without dreams, our losses become unbearable, the stones in our path become mountains, failures transform into paralysis.
"Every time we think of an obstacle and consider it to be insurmountable, it paralyses us. We are frozen with fear, we must think of it mindfully, thinking excessively about the difficulties in our way blocks our intelligence and steals our hope."
- Augusto Cury, Brazilian physician, psychiatrist, psychotherapist & writer -
When she lets herself have big dreams, her mistakes bring opportunities to learn.
She believes she was born to succeed, and keep trying, not to give up! When she experiences a setback, there is nothing to worry about because life will always open another door. Never doubt it!
We can have compassion for ourselves when we fail. We don't have to let a bad jump undermine us or our confidence.
Challenges and fears can build courage. If you let them...
CHALLENGES
Love daily challenges. They motivate us to turn dreams into action.
Challenges are an excellent motivational tool.
CONCENTRATION
To achieve high performance in sports, CONCENTRATION is EVERYTHING!
You perform at your best when you are concentrating and 'in the zone', flowing instead of overthinking.
Concentration, through breathing, is a powerful exercise, easily practiced every day.
EGO
Her ego is her fiercest opponent. It wants to exist and to be someone, and makes her seek for recognition.
"The ego is not who you really are. The ego is your self-image; it is your social mask; it is the role you are playing. Your social mask thrives on approval. It wants control, and it is sustained by power because it lives in fear."
- Deepak Chopra -
EMBRACE DIFFICULTY
Manage fears with inner dialogue: critique, ask, doubt, and then decide how you want to act.
THINK before ACTING.
Learn from obstacles and be flexible.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
When we think positively, our brain is a major force at our disposal. A miracle happens when you are sure and brings the right emotions into your brain!
Emotional intelligence helps Luciana avoid letting feelings take over, controlling her brain and her attitude.
ENERGY
Within ourselves there's positive energy to cultivate, to have good days, good moments and achieve our goals.
Energy can be strength, vitality and all that we need for our physical, spiritual & mental activity.
FOCUS
"Where focus goes, energy flows!" - Tony Robbins
When the mind is focused, actions become automatic without the interference of thought, and you create a feeling of flow.
GOALS
"Without a goal it is hard to score."
Luciana reminds herself that just because she created a plan she cannot expect everything is going to work out without any more effort.
Her plan is just the starting point.
Goals enrich life. Short & long-term goals.
When we accomplish our goals, no matter how small or big they are, it is important to celebrate the achievement.
LOOK INSIDE MYSELF
How I think has a huge impact on how I feel and what I do.
She believes she's 100% responsible for writing her story and the only possible revolution is the one inside of her!
THINK - FEEL - ACT
MEDITATION
"Meditation is the strength we find in the quiet mind. It gives inner peace; meditation IS inner peace."
Meditation helps to:
Release stress & negativity
Beat fatigue & sleeplessness and get revitalised
Rejuvenate & defer ageing
Oxygenate the blood
Maintain an overall sense of wellbeing, happiness and quality of life
Work smarter & be more productive
Train the power of the mind
Accelerate inner development
Live healthy
MENTAL TRAINING
"The development of sports-specific mental skills integrated with physical training seems to be the best combination to deal with diverse mental processes and states affecting participation & performance. For example: building confidence, controlling emotions, internal & external reactions towards failure & defeat, focus, motivation & other variables that produce significant results and help athletes perform at their peak."
MOTIVATION
The strength and the will to transform are in each one of us, and we can cultivate them.
Success is a combination of the right process, perseverance, and the power of willingness.
PASSION
Everything we do in life we can do with passion, if we love that we do and find our passion.
POSITIVE SELF-TALK
It's not how good I am; it's HOW GOOD I WANT TO BE.
To reach the top,I keep going. "I KNOW I CAN!"
RE-THINKING POSITIVE THINKING
Gabriele Oettingen, a professor of psychology at New York University and the University of Hamburg, focuses on how people think about the future, and hw this impacts cognition, emotion, and behaviour. In her research, she's developed a simple tool called "WOOP": Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan.
"When I look back on my life I see pain, mistakes, and heartache. When I look in the mirror, I see strength, learned lessons and pride in myself." - Gabriele Oettingen -
STRESS
Studies conducted by renowned cellular biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton identify stress as a factor in 95% of illness & disease.
Stress is the result of any all changes that require readjustment.
Stress within the body occurs when we have to deal with situations that will require a great emotional effort in order to overcome.
We have both positive & negative stress.
When stress is expected (brought on by something pleasing), stress becomes positive.
When the unexpected and displeasing happens, and we do not know how to act or deal with the new situation, the stress that results can be harmful.
Good stress = challenges us to step out of the 'comfort zone.'
Bad stress = expectations that are too high, an inability to adapt or cope with stress, therefore resulting in mental or physical trauma.
TALENT
Talent is an important aspect of every sport, it is natural, we're born with it.
Many of us have a natural talent for something, and you just need to find out what it is. It's there!
Being talented at something is NOT ENOUGH.
To succeed we need to work hard towards our goal and do our best day after day to achieve them.
THE CHIMPANZEE MIND
The human mind can be man's and woman's best friend one moment, and worst enemy the next.
Because chimpanzees are always jumping from one thing to the other, this has been called the 'Chimpanzee Mind.'
The mind is responsible for our emotions, and the Chimpanzee Mind loves to sabotage us.
WORRY
Worrying is fixating on something anticipated, an unresolved problem, or unrealised hope.
Worry disturbes the spirit to the point of producing suffering.
Worrying affects the emotional state.
Worry undermines and thwarts success.
Time heals. So don't worry much about anything.
THE RIGHT MOMENT
There is an ideal moment for everything I choose to do and be in life. - Luciana Diniz
Hope you have not only enjoyed this first part of the article, but also learned something that could help you "JUMP 4 YOUR DREAMS!" Stay tuned for the second part about "ACTIONS & HABITS" where she talks in depth about her mental training routine on discipline, problem-solving, concentration, anxiety management, negative thought, positive attitude, instinct & intuition, visualisation, and much more!!!
"Transform your life to transmute Goals into Dreams
and Dreams into Reality in your daily life."
- Luciana Diniz -
Source: "Jump 4 Your Dreams!" - Learning with the Masters - by Luciana Diniz
Copyright ©
Comments