(ThyBlackMan.com) In tennis, as in life, a ‘set-point’ wins the next set. What is it going to take for you to move past your fear and get to the next level – to win the next set? How you get to the top will be determined by how you feel about yourself now. Those are your core values.
Use these three motivators to shape what’s at the core of your existence.
Motivator#1:
Create Purpose
The story is told of an old slave woman during the Civil War who stood in the middle of a dusty road with a broom in her hand as a contingent of Confederate soldiers advanced. The general stopped the caravan, looked amusingly at the old lady and asked, “Old 
woman, do you plan to stop my advance with just that little old broom?” The old woman looked up at the general sitting regally on his horse, wiped her sun-baked lips and replied, “No, suh, just aim to show ya where I stand.”
Instead of spending your lifetime trying to ‘find’ your reason for being on this planet, create purpose for your life by standing for something, by helping others achieve their greatness and by using your talent to make the world a better place.
Sometimes it takes a good fall to know where you stand.
–Anonymous
With all of the unrest swirling around us and the diminishing of values we are witnessing socially, we sure need people who – like that old woman – just aim to show the world where they stand.
Motivator#2:
Be Ready for Life’s ‘Gut Check’
A gut check is a test or assessment of courage, character, or determination. The old meaning associated with the phrase was something that one did to oneself; it was an adage that suggested we should look inside ourselves from time to time to determine if our perceived strength truly measured up. But the more accurate meaning is more outside-in; it’s a part of life testing your resilience. Life will ‘check your gut’, to determine your level of intestinal fortitude or how well you hold up when faced with change and challenge. Giving in to bitterness is the first step toward brokenness. When faced with unemployment or a drop in income, it’s life checking your gut.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Motivator#3:
Embrace change
We do not accept change because we fear it. One of the greatest lessons the gym can offer is how to more capably adapt to change and challenge. As the concept of free motion helps to develop a strong core, it also assists in the way in which we develop as humans.
We are not fixed and unchangeable; our greatest growth occurs when we are willing to change our perspectives about ourselves, about people and about the world in which we live. Doing so means exposing ourselves to new ways of thinking. Studies done on school-age children determined that fixed mind-sets lead to lesser feelings of achievement later in life; youth excel when they’ve been exposed to other perspectives and cultures.
Think about this: there are a lot of people who are living but died a long time ago. They died to their dreams and their aspirations because they could not or would not step up and handle life’s common denominator: change. Embrace change with confidence; determine that you are not going to be defeated by your circumstances. Keep moving forward and believe in yourself.
What you fear the most has no power. Your fear of it has the power.
–Oprah Winfrey
Ever wondered how or why you do the same thing, gone to the same place over and over? Blows your mind! Make it a point to do something different, try something new – whether it’s a restaurant, church or some cultural event.
How you get to the top will be determined by your core values.
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.
