“'Can’t' is a dirty, four-letter word.”
That slice of sport psychology wisdom from Twana “The Beast” Barnett, a professional wrestler, former Women of Wrestling (WOW) and weightlifting champion, actress, and so many other impressive life achievements.
“We don’t use the word ‘can’t,' and whenever kids say something negative about themselves (like ‘I can’t’), we instantly stop everything we’re doing, and they owe me three,” explained Barnett, who works with young people in a variety of settings (including her own children), and she then tells them “You have to give me three positive things about yourself.”
To try to change negative thinking—which usually doesn’t work because it only causes us to dwell on unwanted thoughts and emotions—simply add to those unworkable thoughts with constructive thoughts, as just demonstrated by Barnett.
“I don’t let the one negative live in their headspace, because that’s not how we operate,” she continued. “You know, you can have a bad moment, but you are not that moment.”
It is advice we can all benefit from.
Who needs a sports psychologist when you can mine the experience and expertise of an insightful, elite athlete such as Twana Barnett? The intention is just that—herein—based on an exclusive interview with Barnett for this post.
This is a moniker Barnett prefers and how she will be referred to for the remainder of this post.
“It’s a name that’s followed me through high school sports, through fire academy, through professional bodybuilding, and wrestling,” explained The Beast. “Just whenever I attack something, it’s just like 110%, all in beast mode. People would see me doing things, like when I was getting my black belt, or whatever I was doing, and they’re like, ‘Wow, you’re such a beast,’ and so the name just kind of stuck.”
“Beast” mentality is a critical ingredient for all the things she’s achieved. A black belt in Krav Maga, expertise in Muay Thai, MMA (all three are specialized martial arts), boxing, and firefighting, and championship quality bodybuilding and wrestling. Perhaps requiring the most grit is her work as a crisis counselor at a children’s emergency homeless shelter.
So, Beast it is.
“My favorite words when attacking anything are ‘determination’ and ‘perseverance,’” shared Beast. “A lot of times we get that ‘I’m not good enough’ thought, or if you are at the top of your game, it can be that ‘imposter syndrome’ (meaning ‘I’m not really this good’), and it’s easy to let all that overtake us.”
Indeed, everyone will have thoughts of self-doubt, and accompanying emotion, which can distract us from the task at hand and get in the way of optimal performance in sports and other endeavors.
“I think the biggest takeaway (when distracting mind chatter and emotion strikes) is ‘No, that fear is a lie,'’’ Beast continued. “It’s not even a real thing to me, because to me, you have to be at your best 100% of the time. I’ve had people come up and tell me: ‘I was having a horrible day, and I saw you (Beast) just pushing and working so hard, it just made me want to keep going.’ For me that’s the biggest compliment—‘I saw you pushing harder’ as opposed to someone commenting on my physique or my looks.”
“I think the best thing to do is to keep pushing, and when your path gets hard, you push harder,” Beast advised. When it feels impossible, you push that aside and just put one foot in front of the other. On every pair of my shoes, I write on my toes ‘No one cares, work harder.’”
“No one cares about your excuses,” observed the Beast. "No one cares about what’s going on in your day, and you shouldn’t care. If we let our head slip there, it slows us down, and when we tune that out, we’re unstoppable.”
“Some people let anxiety and fear either take them out of the game, or just stop them completely—freeze them,” expanded Beast. “Some people embrace it (anxiety) and some people run away from it.” I never run. I always fight and face the storm, because you can grow through the storm, or you can run from the storm. I always face the storm, headfirst, and see how I can grow through it.”
Perhaps we should call her Dr. Beast.
How do you pass along these valuable lessons to young athletes? Beast had much to say about that.
“I think it’s two ways,” she offered. “First and foremost, repetition. What you say over and over sticks. Repetition makes it stick. Two, leading by example. Kids will listen to you, but they’ll do what you do, not what you say. If you say one thing, but do another, you’re a hypocrite to them, and they see that no matter how young they are.”
“When I work with kids, I always show them what discipline looks like, I show them what drive looks like” Beast explained. “I show them what integrity looks like. Whether it’s in sports, whether it’s in your life, they have an example of that. I get in the trenches with the kids. If I tell you to do a lap and 10 push-ups, I’m right there beside you, doing them full-out. I’m not going to stand over you and count. If I’m there doing it with you, there’s no reason you can’t do it. I tell them ‘I’m twice your age. There's no reason you shouldn’t be able to bang them out if I’m banging them out with you. When you’re tired, I’m gonna sit here with you and we’re gonna do it together, tired.’ So, I’m always right there with my kids, always.”
A living, breathing example of integrity from Dr. Beast.
“I think the most important goal in sport, or any aspect of your life, is to focus on being the best you possible,” Beast explained. “When Kobe Bryant went out for training or in games, he didn’t think about ‘I’m gonna make Kobe Bryant look best,’ he thought about, 'How do I best accomplish this game? How do I best accomplish my skills?’ I think everyone should focus on their skills sets, what is it that you do well, and how do we do it better? What is it that you want to be better at and how do you accomplish that?"
“I think it’s that focus, that drive, that discipline that gets you there.”
Well said, Dr. Beast.
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