Everyone has down days.
Days when you wake up not feeling yourself.
If you’re a basketball player.
You will have bad shooting nights.
Even if we do everything perfectly in life.
Some days will still not go right.
A down day is normal/healthy.
It's part of being alive.
Don't let one bad day turn into a bad year.
That happened to me.
My sophomore year at college.
I was shooting the ball extremely well.
Starting in the BIG10.
The best conference in America.
I had one very poor game.
Went 2/15 from the field against Lonzo Ball for UCLA.
It crushed my confidence.
The downward spiral began.
One bad day created the next.
I started getting nervous at training.
Momentum built.
I couldn't get my confidence back.
I lost my starter spot.
On-court performance was declining.
My parents flew all the way to Nebraska to watch me play.
I wanted to impress them more than anything in the world.
This added to the nerves.
My training was getting worse.
My performance fell.
I didn’t hit the court.
My parents didn’t get to watch me play.
It sucked.
One poor performance led to a string of poor months.
Some of the hardest months of my life.
I learned a great deal from this.
Failure is a powerful teacher.
Here are the 3 lessons I learned on how to not let a bad day carry momentum:
Find comfort in your routine
Routine becomes everything.
James Clear quotes: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
When pressure and stress are applied.
You fall back to your basics.
Your routine.
Jocko Williams (retired navy seal) says navy seals don’t use fancy tricks and tactics.
They master the basics.
Their daily habits are locked in.
When the shooting starts to happen.
People don’t have the time or poise to think.
They fall to their natural instinct.
Their daily routine.
The same is applied to your life.
Master the routine of your day.
Then rely on that when things get tough.
If you don’t have a routine that gives you confidence.
It's time to start building one.
Switch up your focus
Stop trying so hard.
I know that sounds crazy.
It's called the backward law.
The more we try for something the further away we get.
If I tell you to not think of a pink elephant.
The harder you try to not think of it the worse you would do.
I wanted to make shots more than anything in the world in college.
The obsession caused nerves which created more mistakes.
So what do we focus on instead?
"The Inner Game of Tennis" suggests focusing on enjoyment and learning.
For me, this has changed my sporting career.
Every day I show up and try and have the most fun possible.
I do this by:
Trying my best
Supporting my friends
Being present
Appreciating the opportunitycI have
I also focus on learning as much as possible
I do this by:
Intently listening
Having an open mind
Trying new things
Not being afraid of failure
With my focus put on learning and enjoying myself.
I feel unbreakable.
The outcome is in my control.
Reset the body
Your body knows.
The nervous system keeps track of the build-up of stress.
When the build-up becomes too much, our body will find a way to reset.
Fatigue
Sickness
Injury
Mental health breakdowns
This is not what you want.
So many athletes get sick post-season.
Teachers and kids break down on school holidays.
You must learn to reset your body consciously.
The best way to do this is by learning what works for you.
Awareness.
Mindfully do something that is self-loving and caring.
Stick to it for a week or two.
Review how you feel before and after.
Either repeat or try something else.
Here is a list of activities to try:
Walks in nature (No phone)
Cold showers
Breathwork
Drawing
Journaling
Music & Dancing
Dopamine fasting
These are a few that I personally use when I notice my stress build-up is getting too big.
Find ways to control your body.
Hit that reset button.
Feel that confidence start to come back.
Life will punch us in the face.
But as the great Rocky Balboa said.
"It's not about how hard you can hit; It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

No matter how bad the day is.
You will bounce back.
Your past mistakes do not define you as a person.
The ability to jump up and answer every challenge, that’s courage.
That is what will define you.
Thank you for reading.
If you enjoyed this.
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Have a great day.