BookBabble #31: "The Gladiator Mindset" by Adam Peaty

"Push Your Limits. Overcome Challenges. Achieve Your Goals."

Here we have the great British swimmer and fellow Adam who has this book out I read a few months back…

Partly about his career (a hugely successful one at that and not slowing down anytime soon), and also on how you can achieve said Gladiator Mindset and subsequent success in your life.

I won't delve too much into the man himself and his accomplishments but if you've caught any major competitions in the past few years, you will have seen him doing his thing.

There are 10 principles/steps that the book is based around along with other aspects of his own mindset and career.

Let's jump straight in!

Some great quotes from the book followed by my additional thoughts…

‘Always be better than yesterday.’

Constant improvement, on a daily basis. Not so much about what others are doing, but if you're constantly getting a little bit better every single day then you're winning.

‘first principles’

This is about taking it back to the main, original thing. Back to basics. It's a foundational proposition or assumption that stands alone. All things then stem from there, but at times you have to go back and remind yourself. Strip away the crap.

never focus on your competitors, just yourself.

It is all about you in this context. The other guy(s) will do whatever he does. How he's showing up is up to him and the cards will fall as they may. You get your part right then they'll be irrelevant anyway. And if they win after all that, then good for them.

‘Ninety percent of success is just showing up.’

Literally, it's about being in the game. Just showing up every day will put you ahead of most people. People give up easily or miss a lot of days. If you're there day in day out then you give yourself the best chance as well as people dropping like flies on the way. You win by default!

I believe that if you can clearly picture your own success, then you can achieve it. The mind needs to be fed with positive, specific and repetitive images so it knows exactly what is expected of it

Visualisation. A very common and old technique and very much used by sports people. You need to have that vision, and with the clarity and purpose that brings it to fruition, or at least gives it the best chance.

‘If you’re not incredibly excited by your goal it’s not worth pursuing.’

It needs to fire you up, or it just won't be sustainable.

We thrive on momentum

Momentum, confidence and progress keeps things moving. I think momentum is one of the most important things out there as it taps into the law of inertia. That being, that objects in motion tend to stay in motion (and vice versa), so it's important to stay on the right side of this law.

IAP or Individual Athlete Plan

This is a plan he creates with the British Swimming team for the coming year and sets out his goals. This ensures progress and a clear path.

Jon Gordon wrote: ‘There is nothing more powerful than a humble person with a warrior spirit who is driven by a bigger purpose.’

Quite a combo. And Adam wants to be that person and help inspire others.

‘The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well, the minds which cannot change their opinions; they cease to be mind.’ Nietzsche

It's a process of adaptation. Without it, you can't continue to exist, at least not in the best form.

‘He who possesses a strong enough why can tolerate almost any what.’

It was also Nietzsche who said this (and tolerate any 'how'). If you truly believe in something, you will get it done, whatever it takes.

Ikigai

This is a Japanese concept that refers to something that gives a person a sense of purpose and reason for living. Also the subject of another classic BookBabble!

the lion doesn’t lose sleep over the opinions of sheep

Sheep are irrelevant to the lion. The sheep on the other hand need to be a bit wary of the lion too. The lion is the king of the jungle and just cracks on regardless. I think we know what we're driving at here.

flow

Ah, the old concept of flow. I won't go into it now, other than to say that it can be summed up as 'being in the zone', but do check out my BookBabble of the same name.

Source

a life of substance is not reliant on possessions, it’s about who you are inside and the way you treat others.

Possessions are nice if they provide some use or ornament, but don't mean too much in the end and will come and go. Who you are and how you live and interact with the world around you is where the real substance lies.

‘Amor fati’ is a Stoic phrase which translates as ‘love your fate’

It is what it is. Acceptance. You may not have 'wanted' it but 'love' it anyway. Deal with it and move on.

‘memento mori’, meaning ‘remember you will die’

More Stoicism here. Remembering you are mortal, can help you live more.

We train not just to win and get by, but to dominate – that’s the killer instinct.

For someone like Peaty, it's not the taking part. It's about winning and dominating. Once you become a winner, it's not only about keeping that top spot, but taking it even further.

Ollie Ollerton says: ‘We should embrace short-term discomfort for long-term gain. However, we are hard-wired to take short-term comfort, and this leads to long-term pain.’

This is Ollie Ollerton who is a former special forces soldier, and on some of those SAS type TV shows. It's natural to want the short-term fix, but it's not where the gains lie. So it's a case of overcoming that wiring to satisfy our more modern part of the brain.

voluntary discomfort

Purposely putting yourself in discomfort to make you stronger. It also has the benefit of a little comfort feeling amazing in comparison.

Train hard, fight easy

The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat. Putting in the graft away from the field of battle, so when it comes to it, the 'fight' naturally flows.

‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept’

What he's saying here, is that if you know something is wrong but don't stand up against it, then you're no better yourself. There are standards that should be upheld, and we need to be the best we can be and expect and demand it from others.

It was MLK that said, The only thing that evil needs to prevail, is that good people do nothing.

We’re living in an age where stress brought on by too much screen time on social networks and constant bad news on twenty-four-hour TV (which has us worrying about things beyond our control), has made us exist in the constant shadow of low-level anxiety.

Spot on. All the media exists for is to put you in a state of fear and/or anger. This has you coming back for more like a crack addict and also makes you very easily manipulated.

And with all the screen time on your computer and phone, living on tenterhooks for the next ding or dong, means you always have that little bit of anxiety lurking.

Obviously, this needs to be rectified in the best ways we see fit. I'll leave that up to you.

Adam's 10 Steps to Achieve the Impossible

Step 1: Imagine you are the hero in your own movie
Step 2: Answer these four simple questions to find your ikigai
Step 3: Banishing negativity
Step 4: Cold shower every morning
Step 5: Choose the pack you run with very carefully
Step 6: Summoning your inner rage
Step 7: Finessing your process to reach your goal
Step 8: Facing fears
Step 9: Start a gratitude and self-observation diary
Step 10: Meditation keeps you in the present

Thanks Adam! Anything Else?

An interesting book covering a lot of your usual suspects in these matters. But it does give it from the perspective of a true champion.

The guy knows his way around a swimming pool and also how to get and be in the frame of mind to win. This can of course can be applied to any endeavour.

He talks a lot about his coach, Mel Marshall. And although it's Adam splashing around in the water, it's very much a team sport and it shows the importance of a good coach and support network.

Worth a read if you follow the man himself or if you like sports bios that cross over into the personal growth space. Enjoy!

First image my own, second linked to source + quotes from the book

Check out the others in the series…