Dominic Thiem was the first man in 70 years to come back two sets down in the U.S. Open to win a five-set match and become this year’s singles tennis champion.
In his acceptance speech Thiem hardly spent any time talking about himself. He elevated the loser and in doing so himself and those who witnessed it.
Proving once again that we have accomplished nothing until we can show sincere gratitude for both our opponents as well as those who help us.
Watch this clip for lesson one.
There’s good luck and then there’s bad.
Factoring in either one is a waste of time.
Both good luck and bad luck can upend what we anticipate or present new opportunities and challenges.
You don’t wait to win the lottery or lose your job.
Luck is always a factor in anything we do but making your own luck is a better bet.
Failure itself is less to blame than the fear of failure.
In sports, when a team has a seemingly insurmountable lead, they play with confidence expecting the eventual win.
Individuals are far more complex.
Starting is a problem. Many great ideas and wonderful opportunities are missed because fear of not succeeding is a hindrance.
The best way to overcome fear of failure is to change the way you think about it – see it as an opportunity to learn not as a vote on you and your value.
A ballplayer who hits .250 is failing 75% of the time but you can be sure they look forward to their next at-bat 100% of the time.
Canine Cottages fitted some dogs with heart rate monitors to discern what makes their tails wag in happiness.
They found a dog’s heart rate increases by 46% when they hear the words “I love you” from their owners.
And that dogs’ heart rates calmed down by 23% while being cuddled.
Expressing human emotions has never been more crucial than in our world of click, scroll and send so words of endearment can be powerful ways to make others happy.
Approval and acceptance are what people crave the most.
We all want it.
In meetings, in families, in relationships.
That’s why being able to sincerely parcel out acts and words of approval and acceptance is the secret sauce to winning the cooperation of others and making friends.
Criticism and rejection even if well-meaning is counter-productive.
The one who dishes out unconditional approval and acceptance is the leader.
Times are challenging but not impossible.
Continue to raise your spirits and of those around you.
This is our hidden power of working through adversity.
Our brains are like sponges.
They soak up everything they hear and see whether it is positive or negative.
So, allowing others to have direct access into your psyche is dangerous.
Take charge of what you let in by thinking of your mind as a recording device that repeats what it hears over and over again unless you specifically tell it no.
No criticism.
No insults.
No thoughts that limit your possibilities from others or yourself.
You can’t control what is said, but you can control what repeats in your subconscious.
Obsessing over how good you are is a waste of time.
Everyone has more than enough going for them.
It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, it’s how you play them.
Broadcasters have used built-in delays to protect the public against unsavory aspects of live programming for years.
The 7 second delay is something that can work for us as well in our fast-moving digital world.
Pause 7 seconds before responding in real time to a text or email message and protect against putting a first thought as a final thought.
Usually, the first idea is our worst idea – delaying a response even for as little as 7 seconds and perhaps more if possible makes us a better, more sensitive communicator.
If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.
Something positive is overdue to happen.
I am so bitterly disappointed that I want to give up.
This means take some time off to see why one thing can make you so miserable before committing to pursuing it again.
I tried so hard and still didn’t succeed.
Not getting what you want is a gift. It makes you question how badly you really want it and whether you want it so badly you’ll keep trying.
I failed in a friendship or relationship.
The most important relationship we can have starts with ourselves – work on that and you will most assuredly attract people for if you don’t love yourself, how can you ask someone else to?
Disappointment is not an excuse for quitting – it’s an opportunity to recommit.
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