Tuesday morning I read the reports.
The biggest story, as far as I’m concerned, wasn’t that North Carolina finally won the NCAA championship in men’s basketball.
It was the following passage I read by Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated:
“Google the phrase ‘Tyler Hansbrough sucks.’ You’ll get seven pages of results, including a YouTube clip with that very title. The ever-intuitive Google also will suggest you try ‘Tyler Hansbrough overrated,’ which nets 37 pages of results …”
“Though Hansbrough tried his best for four seasons to block them out, the ACC’s alltime leading scorer couldn’t help but hear his critics. Last night, as he scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Tar Heels to an 89-72 NCAA championship game win over Michigan State, he silenced them.
“A lot of people doubted me this year,” Hansbrough said. “But people can say whatever they want. I’m part of something special that some people never experience in their lives.”
Note the following key words: “tried his best for four seasons to block them out.”
This means that the big star was not able to silence the voices of his critics. He could still hear them as he practiced and as he played.
But guess what? He kept practicing and he kept playing, regardless.
He didn’t allow the voices of those critics to stand in his way.
Yes, the voices were there all right – but they held no power over him. So why fight with them? Why argue with them? Just let them be and go about your business.
What Hansbrough did was minimize the voices of his critics and amplify his own voice and the voices of those who
support him.
The pages on Google, the videos on YouTube – they aren’t going away. Neither are the critics. Even when you finally
do what they claim you cannot do – the critics are still there. Some will jump the fence – that’s true – but many will not – no matter what you do. So weaken their voices. You have the controls. And those controls exist inside your own mind.
Years ago I was stung by a hornet’s nest of criticism. I felt I must fight back – and believe me, I DID.
But the fighting only created more hornets.
I decided to put more effort into it. I fought back harder – and the angry forces grew stronger still.
Finally, a friend gave me a call. He gave one sentence of advice that changed my life. He said, “Never get into a p*ss fight with a skunk.”
One mental picture. One mental movie.
Me fighting a skunk with urine. The skunk fighting me with something far worse.
This one mental movie changed my thinking instantly – it totally rewired my desire to fight those anonymous and poor souls who will never achieve anything worthy of mention.
Yes, there are certain cases, legal ones, in which you have a right to defend yourself. But responding to every attack, back-stab or criticism isn’t worth your time.
Silence your critics in your own mind by amplifying your own voice, by changing your mental pictures to ones that are MORE POWERFUL than the criticism. Silence them by succeeding. Silence them by savoring the throng of cheers from those who really do admire and support you.
And if you dare, proceed as if the whole world loves you.
Matt Furey
P.S. Master the power of mental pictures and movies with Zero Resistance Living it’s the ultimate ammo for those who attack and condemn you for daring to dream BIG and reach for the stars.
