Cam Newton is sticking around in New England; at least, for one more season. The quarterback signed by the Patriots franchise to replace Tom Brady had a rather disappointing campaign in 2020 where he seemed a shadow of his former self.

The 2015 NFL MVP has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons and last season was no different. While the Patriots‘ downfall in 2020 can’t be solely pinned on Newton, a certain amount of criticism is warranted. But channeling feelings of hatred fall far from the gambit of constructive criticism.

Hate is something that almost every NFL receives from being under the spotlight. But Cam Newton has an interesting technique of coping with that hate and using it to his advantage.

Cam Newton and his interesting approach to dealing with emotions

Speaking to the Boston Herald, Cam Newton talked about how he deals with all the criticism and hate that comes his way. While some chose to ignore it altogether, Newton has an interesting dual-ended approach.

“Simple, feed your focus. Feed it. If the hate ain’t in my focus, I don’t feed it. I feed off of it, but I don’t feed it. It’s two different things,” he said.

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Not letting the hate consume him, the quarterback said he doesn’t fixate on what people have to say. Rather, he uses it to his advantage to feed his motivation.

“When I sense or when I dwell on hatred, that’s the product that’s going to come out — rage, anger. But that’s the hatred using me, not me using the hatred.

“So I want to process that and make that fuel me. I don’t dwell on what a person may say, what this person may say, she say, I just use it to my advantage and I feed what I want it to feed.”

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Cam Newton is set to the be the starter for New England come Week 1 despite the franchise drafting QB Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

So is there’s a repeat of 2020, Newton won’t only have to deal with the hate but also the prospect of losing his starting job to a rookie quarterback.