It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad – Review and Recap
It Takes What It Takes by Trevor Moawad – listened to this on Audible. It’s available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and more.
Short Summary: (From Amazon)
He knows how to win.
More, he knows the many ways-subtle, brutal, often self-inflicted-ways we lose.
As the most trusted mental coach in the world of sports, Trevor Moawad has worked with many of the most dominant athletes and the savviest coaches. From Nick Saban and Kirby Smart to Russell Wilson, they all look to Moawad for help finding or keeping or regaining their competitive edge.
Now, at last, Moawad shares his unique philosophy with the general public.
He lays out lessons he’s derived from his greatest career successes as well as personal setbacks, the game-changing wisdom he ‘s earned as the go-to whisperer for elite performers on fields of play and among men and women headed to the battlefield.
Most important thing about the book – He’s not a positive thinking advocate but a neutral thinking advocate.
Theme? Use neutral thinking to train your mind – this will help you succeed.
Lesson: His #1 client is probably NFL quarterback Russell Wilson. Moawad tells a lot of stories about how he worked with Wilson and other athletes and coaches when they were struggling. One good example is after Wilson lost the Super Bowl – how do you come back from something like that?
I used to say I appreciate a ‘tough love’ coaching style, but it actually might be closer to this neutral thinking approach. So the main message really resonated with me – I was already on board!!
How these mental training tips apply to runners – I think it’s very hard to just be positive and push through when you’re at mile 21 and slamming into the wall. Your body feels like it’s giving out on you – and at that point positive thinking might actually feel more discouraging.
But staying neutral, not getting emotional or stressed about it and thinking about the reality of the situation can help!
Let’s use the example of running a marathon and needing to use a mental training tool to help you.
Imagine it’s marathon race day, it’s a warm day, you don’t have any injuries… You feel pretty good the first half of the race, you’re staying around goal pace.
Then, around mile 19 you start to feel like you’re slowing down. It feels HOT, hotter than you realized.
By the time you get to Mile 20 you can’t keep up with your goal pace any more. Your legs feel tired and heavy… you start to freak out.
What To Do If You Want to Stop Running… Here are your options:
A.) Stay Positive! Tell yourself – JUST KEEP GOING!! Try to get back to goal pace. Ignore the heat and your legs. Pump your arms, push yourself and tell yourself you can do it over and over.
