Being the best student-athlete takes a different attitude. The key tools are being consistent, having grit and working harder than the day before.
In the last edition of the Daily Grind, I mentioned how much of a fan I was of the late and great Kobe Bryant. Of course, you can instantly look at his accolades and the things he accomplished as a Los Angeles Laker in the NBA and be a fan. But there was something more I respected about Bryant besides his championship rings – his mentality on the court was like no other during his era.
He was fearless, and we can all agree that by the end of his career, he had mastered his craft to perfection. He showed us that success doesn’t come overnight and that doing the work is the only way to become successful. Kobe was able to accomplish so much, endure all the sacrifices and still remain focused on being great at basketball, but how?
He called it the ‘Mamba Metinalty.’ It’s being the best version of yourself and utilizing your time each day to improve.
Often, we all get caught up in trying to emulate what we see on television or social media when the true path to success is just being yourself. I challenge each student-athlete and everyone else to become the best version of yourself this year.
Being exceptional takes work and practice, and that’s what Kobe wanted to teach. Whether playing a sport or working a job, you should always strive to do and be the best. Kobe had five pillars to channeling your inner Mamba mentality – fearlessness, relentlessness, passion, obsessiveness, and resilience.
Be Fearless
I want you all to be fearless this year. Whenever you step out to compete, have the mindset of being unbeatable. Never allow intimidation to rattle your spirit. Being fearless is quieting the voice in your head that tells you that you don’t have what it takes. Embrace your weaknesses and use them as fuel. When you discover what your weaknesses are, that makes you fearless. Being the best takes a lot of pressure, and with pressure comes fear, but I’m here to tell you that failure is just a state of mind. I challenge you all to overcome any fear holding you back from going to the next level.
Be Relentless
When you’re relentless, you’re not stopping until you get what you want. It takes a person who’s persistent and determined to pursue their goals. Even if some may try to divert you from your objective, you only need to move aside as your sole focus is on the reward of greatness.
Have Passion
Having passion is the key to success. If you want to be great at your sport, you must first love it. You have to love everything about it. If you play football, love the smell of the grass, the feel of the ball or the sounds from the tackles. Be willing to show raw emotions. There’s nothing more special than watching an athlete who cares about his team and the game. Even if sports is not your niche, find something you love to do and do it well.
Be Obsessive
You can only be the best at your respective sport if you know the ins and outs of it. The one thing that separated Kobe from other ball players was his will to learn. He studied the game, the rules and even past players. By doing so, he gained the advantage over most of his opponents because he was willing to do whatever it took to be the best. If you want to master your craft, become obsessed with making it happen.
Be Resilient
Failure is a part of life and sports. It’s an unavoidable situation that will occur no matter how much you plan or train for it. When obstacles do occur, the goal is to be resilient. It doesn’t simply mean pushing through hardships and forgetting about them; it’s understanding the failures and using them to improve. The key is not allowing anything to overtake you too much to the point where you start questioning your work. You must have the capacity to overcome hardship and recover from trying circ*mstances.
We all have a small hint of the Mamba mentality deep inside of us, but it’s up to you to make that decision by utilizing your tools. If you’re ready to make that change to be better, I say start now. The new year is only a blank page where you can improve on something you didn’t accomplish the year prior.
I wish you all the best of luck as you continue to maneuver your way to success as a student-athlete, and remember, nothing in this world can stop you from achieving greatness if you stick to the daily grind.
D’Courtland Christian is the assistant sports editor of the Daily American Republic. Contact him at dchristian@darnews.com.
FAQs
Based on his book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play he shared that there are 5 Pillars of The Mamba Mentality, that is:
- Be Passionate.
- Be Obsessive.
- Be Relentless.
- Be Resilient.
- Be Fearless.
Bryant further explained the mentality during an interview with Amazon Book Review in 2018. “Mamba mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most,” he said. “It's the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit.
What is the philosophy of Mamba mentality? ›
The Mamba mentality challenges us to envision areas where we can strive for mastery and question if we're putting in the necessary work to achieve it. It prompts us to view failure not as a setback, but as a stepping stone towards improvement—an idea echoed by fellow basketball great Michael Jordan.
What does Mamba Mentality book talk about? ›
'The Mamba Mentality' by Kobe Bryant is a non-fiction book that chronicles the life of the basketball legend. It explores the mindset that made him a dominant player and provides insights for achieving success in any field.
What is the Mamba Mentality in everyday life? ›
Hard Work.
“Hard work outweighs talent — every time,” Bryant famously said. “Mamba mentality is about 4 a.m. workouts, doing more than the next guy, and then trusting in the work you've put in when it's time to perform.” Bryant's insane work ethic was legendary.
How do you get Mamba Mentality in real life? ›
Maintain a commitment to hard work and excellence.
Kobe had a laser-like focus on his commitment to excellence. His work ethic was unmatched by his peers and he refused to be complacent in his career. “Without studying, preparation, and practice, you're leaving the outcome to fate. I don't do fate,” said Kobe.
Who started Mamba mentality? ›
What is Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality ? This mindset, his mindset, is called “Mamba Mentality,” a distillation of his focus that explained what everyone wanted to know: how he was able to accomplish so much, endure all the sacrifices, and remain so focused on being great at basketball.
What is a mamba personality? ›
"The Mamba Mentality simply means trying to be the. best version of yourself. That's what the mentality. means. Everyday you're trying to become better." - Kobe.
What are the 5 points of the Mamba Mentality? ›
Following my interpretation of Aristotle's work, I dissect the Mamba Mentality, starting with the five pillars that Bryant articulated himself (Fearlessness, Relentlessness, Passion, Obsessiveness, and Resilience), into 24 different accessible attributes.
What is the Mamba Mentality in a nutshell? ›
To be the greatest, you must have a vision for yourself and your team. To develop that vision, you must first adopt the right mindset. Bryant referred to it as “Mamba mentality” — trying to get better every day at what you're doing.
The quote by The Mamba Mentality, "I can learn how to anticipate the moves of players; I can learn the way they control their bodies, and then it becomes my job to outthink them," encapsulates a powerful mindset that Kobe Bryant embodied throughout his basketball career.
What were Kobe Bryant's thoughts? ›
A lot of people say they want to be great, but they're not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness. From the beginning, I wanted to be the best. I had a constant craving, a yearning, to improve and be the best. I never needed any external forces to motivate me.
What is an example of the Mamba mentality? ›
“We're up here because of 4 am. “We're up here because of two-a-days or five-a-days. “We're up here because we had a dream and let nothing stand in our way.” It was the Mamba Mentality on full display.
What is the meaning of Kobe mentality? ›
Straight from Kobe Bryant's mouth, he said the following about what Mamba mentality is… "To sum up what mamba mentality is, it means to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself," "That is what the mentality is. It's a constant quest to try to better today than you were yesterday."
What are the key points of Mamba Mentality? ›
The Mamba Mentality can be defined as focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most (from his book, The Mamba Mentality: How I Play). The Mamba Mentality can be made up of 5 pillars: Passion, Obsession, Relentless, resiliency, Fearlessness.
What are the 5 pillars of peace? ›
The Five Principles of Peaceful Co-Existence are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non- interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
What are the 5 pillars of emotional resilience? ›
There are five pillars which help us to be Resilient in our life, our work, and in every aspect of our being.
- Self-Care. Self-care is by far the most important of the five pillars. ...
- Self-Awareness. ...
- Positive Relationships. ...
- Mindfulness. ...
- Purpose.
A lot of what most people think they know about Islam is found in the media, where tales of fundamentalism and violence are the norm. The five pillars – the declaration of faith (shahada), prayer (salah), alms-giving (zakat), fasting (sawm) and pilgrimage (hajj) – constitute the basic norms of Islamic practice.
