Have Fun Before the Results

Yesterday I was playing basketball with the neighborhood kids. One of the kids was on the team that was losing and he kept getting down saying that he couldn't have fun because they were losing. As soon as this mental shift happened his play got a lot worse because he wasn't playing hard any more. 

So I told him that when I played baseball in college I once had a series of bad games because I was putting too much pressure on myself to do well. Then I decided to focus on enjoying playing the game, rather than stressing over winning and losing. When I made the mental switch all of the sudden my results improved and I had several of the best games of my college career. 

I told him the key was to have fun first. Enjoy playing the game and then you will be more likely to win, but if you have to win to enjoy the game then you are less likely to win. 

Then all of the sudden he started having fun and playing great. 

This can be applied to pretty much anything. Focus on finding joy in the process and worry less about the outcomes, because if you find joy in the process the outcomes usually take care of themselves.