Mark Glicini
From Wired to Wisdom Through Play
Mark Glicini : Oct 10, 2024 7:00:00 PM
We are more wired yet more disconnected than we have ever been. Technology, smartphones and computers, continues to decrease in-person play.
I just returned home from a two-day, on-site visit with a DI lacrosse program. With the start of the season a week away, we discussed integrating ideas into action.
Thoughts and ideas are the language of the brain; emotions and movements are the language of the body. It’s not enough to know information; we must embody what matters most: faith in our performance, trust amongst each other, and belief in who we are.
A relaxed heart creates a free mind.
“A painter paints with her hand. An artist paints with her hand and her mind. A master paints with her hand and her mind through her heart.”
In high-pressure situations, if we stay in our head, we’re dead. When we play with our heart, it’s a playful art…
Each player on the team shared a hero, a highlight, and a hardship. I was completely moved as every individual opened up with courage and vulnerability. Some shared about losses of a loved one. Others shared how certain teammates inspired them. Everyone went beyond one-word answers, elaborating on the events and people who have pulled on their heartstrings. At the end, I found myself taking several seconds in silence [mid-speech] to hold back my own tears before thanking them for going where all great teams must go: deep. The deeper the conversation, the stronger the connection.
Vulnerability stems from the notion: capacity to be wounded. Once we are vulnerable, we could either be cut down or bonded with those around us.
This requires risk.
All worthwhile rewards require risk.
High-performance teams must expose their hearts to one another in order to attain excellence.
Tears were shed. Being uncomfortable was embraced. With each courageous sentiment expressed … the I’s, My’s, and Me’s evolved into Us, Our, and We.
Passion means enduring or suffering. Compassion means to suffer together. When we actively choose to use compassion to combat suppressed shame, we feel into each other’s realities, we attach, and we see one another FULLY, amid all blemishes and imperfections.
Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.
Confidence comes from doing what we are great at.
Let’s become great, through reps, at compassion.
Why?
A relaxed heart creates a free mind.
Who doesn’t want that?
Take the risk.
MG
Mark Glicini
Founder & CEO of Mark Glicini Peak Performance
Mark was born and raised in New Jersey where he became an elite high school student-athlete. He earned varsity letters as captain of his high school football, basketball and lacrosse teams and was elected into the National & Spanish National Honor Societies. He attended a post-graduate academic program at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, MA before college where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University in New Haven, CT. He is currently a graduate student working toward his doctorate degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at San Diego University for Integrative Studies under Dr. Cristina Versari, Founder & CEO of SDUIS and former Head of Sport Psychology for the National Basketball Association. He is a Teaching Associate with Dr. Robert Gilbert, a Professor at Montclair State University (NJ) and a leading authority and author in the field of Applied Sport Psychology. Mark is currently the lead Mental Health & Wellness Player Advocate for the Premier Lacrosse League.
