This week I’ve been ruminating on what happens when things feel hard. How do you react? Do you buckle down and persist? Do you go the other way? Do you not look adversity in the eye? Are you avoidant?

Things won’t always be easy. Also, things don’t just happen. You have to be willing to work for it. But… are you committed to figuring it out?

It’s especially hard when it’s uncharted territory. What if it hasn’t been done before? To that I answer, time to show others what is possible!

This idea was reflected back to me last weekend by the one other person who believes in doing the impossible about as much as me. The one who coined the term “Outerspace Goals.” And, well, let’s just say he really bowls his talk. 

Belmo went from starting out the Tournament of Champions in 58th – to winning it.

Everyone was counting him out because that was such a huge margin to make up.

It was the Tournament of Champions, so it was prestigious just being there since the field is made up of all PBA champions. However, even Jason will admit that as he began making his run through the 48 games, he had a slow start. But the way he approached it – that’s what really provides insight into the mind of a champion. Even when he was uncharacteristically low in the standings, the way that he thought about it isn’t how most bowlers would think about it.

17 guys made it onto television, across several shows. While Belmo made the 17 line cut, he didn’t make the major show. He was seeded in the show before the final major show. To win, he had to run that final ladder too.

His steady-minded run from 58th to #1 showed us all yet again why he is such a champion.

Even when he was fourth from the bottom, he believed he could get there.. In fact, he has started chronicling the behind-the-scenes of the bowling.  You can find the videos on his YouTube channel. The first video of his new series was recorded when he was in 58th place, and in it he talks to the crew about how he’s feeling.

At that point, no one else would have believed he would go on to win this tournament. But, as Bowling Journal writer Nolan Hughes pointed out, there is some crazy foreshadowing in his Youtube episodes. Just after he finished 58th in round one, he said this: “When I walk into the bowling center, I have to start believing immediately that I’m still going to win this tournament. If I make good shots and use the right bowling ball, I’m going to win this tournament.”

And then he did.

It reminds me of something he always said when we were running clinics together. When we were talking about the mental game, he would say this: “In my mind, it’s not over until it’s mathematically over.”

That is, in terms of how scores are calculated, he will only stop believing when the math cannot possibly add up for him to rise up. And last weekend, when no one else would have believed that idea, he proved that possibilities remain alive until the very, very end. 

There’s a lesson in that for all of us. It doesn’t matter who believes in you, except you.

And even when you know people might even be rooting for you to fail, you hold all of the power. You can overlook what others think and have confidence in yourself all the same. At the beginning of that tournament, Jason knew some people were loving seeing a champion like him down in 58th place. 

How do you get your mind in a place where you don’t let that bother you? It just takes an incredibly strong mental game.

It is kind of crazy what he has been able to accomplish with his mindset. But it’s also not surprising. He is Jason Belmonte. He’s won 15 majors. Now, he’s the only one to win the TOC four times.

So let this be your reminder. Nothing is impossible…until it’s mathematically impossible. It’s worth keeping your belief in yourself alive. Against all odds.

If you want to work on YOUR mental game- there are still March spots open for MINDSET RESET! Join the other forward thinking bowlers inside working on their mental game! (It’s only $27/mo!! and SOOOOOO much content!)