The Real Key to Peak Performance, According to NBA Star Giannis Antetokounmpo
At a recent press conference, an interviewer asked how he keeps his mind right
In the midst of the NBA finals, following a string of awe-inspiring performances, 26-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked during a press conference how he keeps his mind right. His three-part answer, in his own words: “Focusing on the past is ego. Focusing on the future is pride. Focusing on the present is humility.”
What zen-master Giannis is saying, I think, is that when you are fully (or at least close to fully) in the present moment, you are automatically humbled.
Whatever happened in the past does not matter.
Whatever might happen in the future does not matter.
All that matters is this moment. All that matters is now.
If humility is about keeping your ego, or your sense of self, in check on the one hand; and being open to new experiences and information on the other, then releasing from the past and future in favor of being where you are is a great way to cultivate it.
There is research to support this, showing that humility and selflessness is a precursor to peak performance. Flow, that state of being “in the zone,” when…
