Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest-paid footballer in the world, is one of the fittest sportspersons, too. Peaking in agility and strength, several reports revealed that CR7 spends nearly $1 million on maintaining his lifestyle. However, his discipline goes beyond his billionaire status, but a mindset he holds dearly to himself.
Dubbed as the ‘Tiger Mentality,’ Ronaldo’s success is deeply rooted in achievement, grind, and building habits you can’t say no to. As the sentiment is echoed by other billionaires like Jeff Bezos, who advises maintaining focus, he had once advised on maintaining focus and learning the importance of saying ‘no’ to yourself.
What is tiger mentality?
Tiger mentality is about relentless work, unwavering focus, and refusing to feel sorry for yourself when things get hard. Building Ronaldo’s tiger mentality is about consciously building habits that create that aura of hunger and self-belief.
The tiger mentality combines strength, resilience, and sharp focus – almost like a predator, hence its name. Moreover, it is always about keeping those instincts on. The razor-sharp focus helps him improve and attack, instead of avoiding his challenges. Building these habits develops an unshakable belief in oneself, giving the message of a winner.
How to develop a tiger mentality?
Consider Ronaldo, a young child who devoted his entire life to a single goal. Tiger mentality starts from that. Choosing a single field and treating it as a daily task keeps the consistency alive. The first step, however, is setting clear, achievable goals. It can be daily tasks, such as checking a 90-minute workout off your to-do list and then converting it into time-bound training blocks. Ronaldo’s tiger mindset also relies heavily on tracking the progress and achieving these goals.
Here’s how you can make this mentality sustainable
- Turn criticism into fuel
Tiger mentality requires you to set a long-term target and face your failures. A Brighton Posters report suggests using your setbacks, doubt, and hate as data. This would help in approaching challenges as a training action. However, after every failure, analyse it closely.
- Discipline, not vibes
Build a repeatable daily structure around sleep, nutrition, training, and deep work so your willpower is saved for big decisions, not small ones. It is about cutting out and limiting what dulls your edge. It is everything from late-night scrolling to binge-eating, everything that is stopping you from developing the tiger mindset.
- Predator focus
As the name suggests, be a ‘predator’. It is not about eating the weak, but living for the hunt. Ronaldo’s tiger mentality is based largely on his ‘single most important task’ – a life-defining identity to which all efforts are dedicated.
Benefits of tiger mentality
Tiger mentality is a rigorous mental training. More than physical effort, one needs to fortify their mind. Several rehabilitation studies studying the ‘Long-Term Use and Perceived Benefits of Goal-Oriented Attentional Self-Regulation Training in Chronic Brain Injury’ published in the National Library of Medicine in 2017 have found such a mindset to positively impact one’s mental health. It also facilitates intrinsic motivation and fosters a growth mindset. In turn, it helps improve work, family, and community roles.
