September 15, 2024 | Tagged Motivation,
How to get inner peace on and off the volleyball court
Inner peace on and off the volleyball court requires work to cultivate in our lives just like honed serving or passing. Certain daily habits and practices develop a climate of inner peace. The more you practice these disciplines, the more they physiologically change your brain. As your brain becomes less wired for anxiety and more wired for peace, you become naturally more peaceful.
What is inner peace?
Ironically, researchers worldwide cannot come to a consensus about the definition of the word “peace”.
The most common definition used in psychology to define inner peace is equilibrium, and a state of calm, regardless of the circumstances. Inner peace results in freedom from troubled or anxious thoughts. Inner peace leads to poise when faced with challenge and difficulty.
According to science, what are the benefits of inner peace?
- Better and more restful sleep
- Clarity of thoughts
- Confidence in challenges
- Poise under pressure
- Increased productivity
- Reported higher quality of life and inner joy
How can you tell if you are in a state of inner peace?
Mental peace: One of the biggest indicators is that your mind will be in a state of calmness or tranquility.
Mental freedom: When you have inner peace, your thoughts are your own. Your mind is not run by circumstances, assumptions, or ideas that cause you greater anxiety, bitterness, or trouble. You have greater concentration and focus. You own your thoughts and choose peace of mind rather than letting negative thoughts own you.
Fully restful sleep: Another indicator that you have inner peace is your sleep will leave you fully rested and rejuvenated.
Fully present: With inner peace you experience the here and now without falling prey to the negative emotions of bitterness, envy, greed, anxiety, or fear.
Next step clarity: When you have inner peace, you can discern the next wise step to make in challenging situations and you have less confusion, frustration, and fear of failure or the future.
Why is inner peace often elusive?
Inner peace is elusive because it arrives as a condition or an outcome. Just like joy results from the discipline of gratitude, and inspiration is an outcome of the discipline of creative intention, inner peace is the result of intentional action. Like anything beautiful, it requires cultivation and work. You were not born with a perfect jump shot. Similarly, inner peace in hard times isn’t natural. It must be worked for and developed in your life and in your game.
Good News!
The more you work at creating habits that lead to inner peace, the more your brain is restructured to be peaceful. Your peace-creating habits build a calm and tranquil mind which leads to more inner peace. Conversely, anxiety-creating habits build an anxious mind which leads to more inner stress and fear. What will you choose to build today?
VOLLEYBALL INNER PEACE
Through the years, NBC Volleyball has faced skeptics that question why we spend so much time on building the positive psychologies and why we emphasize the work of the mind, heart, and spirit as much as the body. We believe the research is crystal clear and beyond argument. A player who has all the skills but no inner peace, confidence, resiliency, leadership acumen, or personal faith is going to have a very difficult road.
Lack of confidence is one of the greatest barriers to building skill on the court.
Mindset matters. Whether you are learning to pass, serve, hit, or defend, your mindset decides your competitive greatness and your winner’s edge. Just like it takes hours of work to become athletically skilled on the court, there are certain intangible inner qualities that demand the same level of commitment and discipline to cultivate if you want to be the best player and person you can be.
Becoming a leader on the court requires the development of inner peace. In practice or a game, inner peace shows up as poise in conflict and clear headedness in pressure situations. Gametime inner peace is optimism in the face of discouragement, and it is hope when it would be easy to quit.
The World Global Health Organization conducted a study to discover the 24 universal character qualities people aspire to around the world. Researchers of inner peace found the three most vital character qualities necessary for inner peace are as follows:
- Hope. The most important character quality needed for inner peace is an attitude of hope. Hope is defined as an assurance that what isn’t yet materialized will come to be. In volleyball, this means your dreams will never be crushed, merely delayed. Hope allows the mind to solve problems during challenges. Hope is the activating energy to move forward when life is tough.
- Zest. This is defined as the energy necessary to tackle the challenging things of life. Energy is finite and those with zest find the inner courage to rise above difficulty. They find the strength to search for the next step.
- Gratitude. The science of gratitude is profound, and it is a life changer. This daily habit contributes more to mental health than any other discipline. Remember the scientific principles of gratitude. You can find them here: Click here to read the science of gratitude.
Why inner peace matters in volleyball
One of the most common pitfalls for any serious player is the tendency to make volleyball their identity. When we make volleyball our identity instead of character qualities like gratitude, zest, and hope, then we begin to lose control and develop an identity designed by fear rather than freedom. Volleyball has many elements we cannot control. When we place our identity in things outside our control, we begin to develop a fear identity. The mind starts worrying about the loss of dreams, the “what if” scenarios, the fear of whether the coaches can help you achieve your dreams, fear about possible injuries, fear about not being good enough, or fear that your future won’t turn out the way you want. This fear identity creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
On the other hand, an identity based on gratitude, zest, and hope creates an unlimited mindset and a landscape of possibility. These three create the conditions for inner peace, and that creates the conditions for success. Athletes with inner peace make wiser decisions, have greater serendipitous opportunities, and stay resilient in hardship.
Best Habits for Creating a Climate of Inner Peace
a. Unplug: Electronics agitate the nervous system. Get in the habit of decompressing and spending quality time away from any digital influence at certain times each day, especially before going to sleep.
b. Nature: There is incredible research on the benefits of being in nature and even looking at nature. The body responds with immediate decreased stress levels after just a few minutes of viewing beauty in nature and experiencing fresh air.
c. Alone time: Spending time by yourself helps the mind reset and re-align with what matters. One of the most important aspects of building a climate of inner peace is through the practice of prayer and personal faith. Research on the contribution of spiritual faith to inner peace is profound and powerful.
d. Forgiveness: Bitterness, regret, despair, hatred, resentment, anxiety, and envy are some of the most toxic emotions on the planet and they wreak havoc on our thinking and our inner peace. Practicing forgiveness is one of the most powerful antidotes to these toxic emotions.
e. Connect with God: One of the many gifts a relationship with God gives us, one of the best is inner peace regardless of external circumstances. God promises peace to those who trust and seek Him.
Hey NBC Volleyball Student-Athletes,
Keep positive and disciplined with your mental toughness! Be as serious with building your character qualities as you are with your love for the game. As you head into tournament time, keep your mind on serving the team, and executing your tasks at the highest level. What we love about you is that you face challenges with strength and resilience. Dig deep. You’ve got this. We can’t wait to see you this summer!
About NBC Volleyball
NBC Volleyball is a program developed on the whole person, mind, body and spirit. Since 1979, NBC volleyball has been educating athletes to success on and off the court. For more information, visit www.nbcvolleyball.com