Mamba Week
Day Five: Optimism
“It’s a constant quest to try to be better today than you were yesterday.”
Kobe Bryant on Mamba Mentality
Optimism: See Setbacks as Opportunities
Kobe defined Optimism as believing in yourself and having a positive outlook, no matter how big a challenge you face. To wrap up Mamba Week, Naomi Osaka and Anthony Davis pass on how they adopted the Mamba Mentality to face up to a very challenging year in sports.
Whether it’s the grand slam titles Osaka’s been chasing since her back-to-back wins in the US and Australia in 2018-2019, or Anthony Davis’ time with the Lakers being put on hold due to the COVID-19’s effect on the game, staying relentlessly positive hasn’t always been easy. But Optimism isn’t a passive trait for athletes like these, who’ve learned the Mamba Mentality from Kobe himself.
AD believes “Optimism is big in sports in general, just because of the fact that you never wanna be down. There's going to be challenges. There's going to be obstacles, and if you're not optimistic it'll eat you up.” You can see it in Naomi and AD. Their Optimism never lets losses or setbacks keep them from showing up day in and day out, on their respective courts.
“Everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
Kobe Bryant
Optimism separates the greats from the rest. It’s about finding positivity in any given situation, and setting your mind to be okay with whatever happens. Just so long as you give your all.
When Naomi gets back on the court after a loss, she’s taking that opportunity to be empowered by her Optimism. She says “You have to love challenging yourself. You're not going to win every game you play in life. It's the games that you lose and the things that you learn from, and your willingness to train really hard and go out there and just fight. That's what I take from optimism."
Whether it’s the grand slam titles Osaka’s been chasing since her back-to-back wins in the US and Australia in 2018-2019, or Anthony Davis’ time with the Lakers being put on hold due to the COVID-19’s effect on the game, staying relentlessly positive hasn’t always been easy. But Optimism isn’t a passive trait for athletes like these, who’ve learned the Mamba Mentality from Kobe himself.
AD believes “Optimism is big in sports in general, just because of the fact that you never wanna be down. There's going to be challenges. There's going to be obstacles, and if you're not optimistic it'll eat you up.” You can see it in Naomi and AD. Their Optimism never lets losses or setbacks keep them from showing up day in and day out, on their respective courts.
“Everything negative — pressure, challenges — is all an opportunity for me to rise.”
Kobe Bryant
Optimism separates the greats from the rest. It’s about finding positivity in any given situation, and setting your mind to be okay with whatever happens. Just so long as you give your all.
When Naomi gets back on the court after a loss, she’s taking that opportunity to be empowered by her Optimism. She says “You have to love challenging yourself. You're not going to win every game you play in life. It's the games that you lose and the things that you learn from, and your willingness to train really hard and go out there and just fight. That's what I take from optimism."
“I think you always have to look at the bright side of things. That's what makes great ones great. Going through challenges and being able to overcome those challenges.
Anthony Davis
Naomi and AD understand that the glass is half full of opportunity and potential. Kobe’s legacy teaches them and athletes around the world that Optimism is faith in yourself, and it’ll be rewarded as long as you show up and put the work in. “The world is kind of adopting his Mamba Mentality because it helps you in so many ways.” says AD.
“You're not going to win every game you play in life, and it's the games that you lose and the things that you learn from, and your willingness to train really hard and go out there and just fight."
Naomi Osaka
After retiring from basketball, Kobe was focused on coaching the next generation of girls on the court. But Kobe’s effect is forever and it’s global, and inspires others to take the cultivation of our future female athletes seriously.
Naomi Osaka has recently launched Play Academy, a nonprofit initiative that supports community organizations using sports to change the lives of girls for the better. Getting girls active and engaged in sport helps them do better in school and have an increased sense of self.
Naomi breaks it down for us “It’s so little girls can play sports and just get themselves active. For me it means a lot because girls drop out of sports way faster than boys, and for me to be able to provide a way to motivate girls through sport means a lot.”
Naomi is looking towards the future for herself, and women athletes everywhere.
It’s in this spirit that she’s honoring Kobe’s legacy. She's Optimistic about the future of sport, because she's directly connected to the next generation of female athletes giving their all every day, tapping into their own Mamba Mentality.
Kobe coached his daughter and many more girls after retiring because he was invested in the future of women in sport. He understood that coaching girls requires different techniques, especially when it feels like they’re not a priority. Follow Kobe’s lead and do your part to help girls become better, more well-rounded athletes by using our Coaching Girls Guide.
Put Your Mamba Mentality to Work
Here’s two ways you can start being better, right now.
Rise to the Mamba Mentality Challenge
Mamba Week may be coming to an end but your opportunities to improve are endless. Start by taking on the Mamba Mentality Challenge on NTC — a series of daily workouts designed to help you track your progress over five days.