Mamba Mentality: A Mindset To Take On

Two years ago today, February 24, 2020, the memorial service of Kobe and Gianna Bryant was held. The date, 2/24, corresponds to Gigi’s and Kobe’s jersey numbers. The Mambacita carried no. 2 on her jersey while her father, the Black Mamba, donned no. 24. The father-daughter duo are icons in the basketball world, with Kobe already being a household name and his daughter just starting to make a name for herself in women’s basketball. Although they are gone, the legacy left behind by the Mamba will never be forgotten.

Kobe Bryant was known to be someone who had an unparalleled focus. Anything and everything he put his mind to, he always achieved. The only constant in his life was self-improvement. “A constant quest to try to [be] better today than you were yesterday,” he described.

Bryant left behind a mindset he coined as the “Mamba Mentality,” which influenced sports fans, fellow athletes, and even the general public. They have all been influenced by his mentality and strived to think the same way. Having a persistent mindset is the most crucial key to life. Especially for athletes, their mindset can make or break their careers. This is evident in the lives of Olympic gold medalists Caeleb Dressel, Usain Bolt, and Hidilyn Diaz.

When the scale of one's career is already on the Olympic level, people expect even more from the athletes, sometimes assuming that their prowess automatically merits a medal in every tournament. To the public eye, it seems that glory is all that matters to them.

“I’m not racing for medals, I’m racing for my country.”

— Caeleb Dressel

American swimmer Caeleb Dressel, however, has a different mindset. He raced and participated in the Olympic Games, not for the medals, but for the country he’s representing. Most athletes may look pleased with their performance after finishing a race or an event, but they never limit themselves to just being content. “I know I’ll never have that perfect swim, but trying to get those best times, trying to execute as close to a perfect race as I can, I’m never even going to come close. I’m fine with saying that.” Dressel’s words not only describe the Mamba Mentality perfectly but also reflect how intensely this mindset inspires his life.

You have to set yourself goals so you can push yourself harder. Desire is the key to success.

— Usain Bolt

Track and field icon Usain Bolt doesn’t put limits on himself, believing that when there’s always something to improve on, everything and anything is possible. This became apparent after his eureka moment in trying professional football after retiring from his track and field career. In order to progress, Bolt said that it is essential to go against others to find what we still need to work on. Even after retirement, he still reviews his past races. In 2021, he talked about how he believes he could’ve done better; conducting research with a Harvard Professor and staying updated about the sport shows how invested he still is in honing his skills.

Hindi lang 'to all about [the] medal, it's also about preparation and the sport.

— Hidilyn Diaz

The Philippines’ first gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz has said that it’s not only about the medals, but that it’s also about the process and the sport itself. The hard work she put in for 19 months was definitely not wasted. Even if she had already given the Philippines its first medal after a two-decade drought back in the Rio 2016 Games, she did not settle for a silver. Despite not having the proper equipment to train with, even resorting to using jugs that hold gallons of water, Diaz always found ways to refine her skills, pushing herself to the limits only to redefine those limits time and time again. Even when she thought it was impossible to win a medal, she proved that the Filipinos could do it too.

The common denominator among these athletes is that they don’t just rest on their laurels, but rather, they choose to think about other ways to consistently develop their skills. At the end of the day, the most valuable lessons they learn are discipline, humility, and the drive and hunger to keep honing not only their craft but also their character. The Mamba Mentality is not only for the sports world, but rather, it’s an outlook we should take on as well. It is an everyday choice. If turning into the best version of ourselves is the goal, then every day is another chance to work towards it, even if it is not an easy path to take.