Sport Psychology Consultanting
Another form of Interference-homesickness (Part 2)
Jul 13th
Homesickness has a couple of effects on our performance. First, homesickness directs our focus to what we don’t have in our lives, namely our family, friends, familiar environment etc. This unfamiliarity creates a feeling of a lack of control. Whenever we don’t feel like we have control anxiety goes up and we start to approach life with an avoidance tendency. Focusing on what not to do, playing not to lose. Motivation, takes a huge hit and we start to develop feelings of helplessness.
Once we are in this mental cycle off of the performance arena, we typically carry this attitude over to our on court/field performances. As has been discussed in previous posts, once we are focusing on what not to do, there is no way we can maximize our potential or the effort that we put in. In fact, I have witnessed and experienced tremendously poor performances when homesickness has hit.
Back when I was playing on the pro tour at the age of 18 I found myself terribly homesick and wanted to go home. I didn’t, but I found myself lost and confused. I still remember the state of mind I was in. The majority of the time I was whining and complaining to myself. I was down and feeling sorry for myself. During matches I was going through the motions, questioning why I was even there. I realize now how I was sabotaging my own performance. In practice I would work extra hard, to the point of throwing up. This was an attempt to compensate for what I was doing during match play.
What do we do to get over homesickness? First, we need to stick it out. Going home only reinforces quitting. Second, we need to stay focused on what we CAN DO. Meaning the skills required to compete, our strokes, footwork, strategy etc. We don’t need to be callus or cold, like a lot of pro athletes try to do to cope with homesickness. If we channel our energy in the right direction we can avoid this form of interference. Lastly, with the technology available, it is easier to stay in touch with loved ones. Email, Skype, text, call, use whatever works to stay connected to avoid the loneliness that is at the root of homesickness. It isn’t easy, so don’t feel like a wimp, but it CAN be overcome.
Another form of Interference-homesickness
Jul 12th
Obviously achieving high performance is not solely about just the physical components of whatever it is that we do. In fact, the interference that takes our focus away from what we need to do, what we CAN DO often comes from directions we least expect, and sometimes from bizarre directions.
He is an example, quiet a few years back I was working (teaching tennis lessons) with a talented kid. He was progressing well and wanted to give the pro tour a try at some point in the future. I had some friends still coaching and playing on the pro tennis tour at the time and asked a friend to let this kid train and tag along to see what it takes to play at that level.
I started going on about how talented this kid was, how I thought he would be able to keep up in practice and give the guys a good work out. My friend stopped me cold and said, “I don’t care about his tennis skills, playing tennis is the easy part. What sort of person is he? Is he coachable? Will he work hard? Can he learn?” And then he asked what I thought at the time was the strangest question, “is he going to get home sick?” I was surprised, I remember thinking, “what, what does that have anything to do with anything?”
All these years later, I realize how homesickness can be a huge interference factor that prevents us from maintaining the right mind set that allows to maximize our potential and the effort we put into whatever it is we do.
Continued tomorrow
Conclusion to the Barry Zito article (Part 3)
Jul 10th
After talking about the root of his problem which is summarized best as he was setting himself up for failure with the goals and expectations he was putting on himself. He talked about hitting rock bottom. He said “I almost took it too seriously instead of just playing baseball.” When we are in an interference cycle, focusing on what not to do, playing not to lose. Doubts are building, second guessing is getting more prevalent, hesitation is becoming more pronounced, muscle tension is becoming tighter, and ultimately fun has gone out the window and been replaced with misery.
Barry then says, “the nature of players is to make mechanical adjustments. But a lot of times success comes when you relax and just have fun.” Focusing attention on the mechanics, is often a great way to re-channel energy out of interference cycles and back on the CAN DO path. However, if the depth of the interference cycle is too deep focusing on mechanics way not be enough, which is why sometimes this works and other times does not. The most significant part of Barry’s statement is relaxing and having fun part.
When we are having fun, we unavoidably focus our energy on what we CAN DO. Hence, we are more likely to performance, or pitch in Barry case with confidence. Barry states, “If you pitch with confidence, your pitches are better. If you pitch with doubt, your pitches aren’t as good. I can’t explain why or how, but sometimes they just break better.” Obsolutely!!!
To close out the article Barry says the turnaround came when he, “learned to trust myself and my instincts and stop worrying about what everyone thinks of me. Ultimately, it’s none of my business; it’s just their projection on to me.
This year has been a lot more fun, but I can’t ever say I’m back. I would never have the audacity to say that. The nature of this game is that the next game will put you right back on your butt.”
Fatigue is toxic to maintaining high levels of performance
Jul 7th
I had another post ready to go today, or at least I was close to having it ready to go when I felt prompted to go in another direction. I think the post today follows nicely off of yesterdays.
Fatigue messes with our performance no matter how disciplined/high performing we become. Researchers have spent large amounts time looking into the reasons why plane crashes occur. What they have found is not what movies portray, the dramatic, catastrophe, were the engine blows up and the plane takes a massive nose dive. This is not the cause of planes crashing on a consistent basis. Nor are crashes the result of negligent individuals that have a history of poor performance. What they have found across multiple crashes is that fatigue is at the root of the problem.
Fatigue undermines the normally high performing into making mistakes, and not just one mistake, but, several mistakes that all come together to cause an accident. At times fatigued pilots failed to noticed warnings ten to fifteen times. The same appears to try across the board in our lives. When we are worn out we do dumb things, we say dumb things. I can attest to this.
Just yesterday I had one of those days where I was scheduled to the minute it felt like. One delay and I was going to be behind and that is not good when you are giving talks and you have a whole camp of over a hundred kids and coaching waiting for you. Simply, I couldn’t be late. One of the tasks I needed to get done was drop packages off at the post office. While I was at the post office I grabbed a diet coke (clear sign I was running low). But in my fatigued state, feeling run down, I grabbed a 500 ml bottle for $1:50 instead of the 2 litre bottle for $1:00. Not that .50 cents is that big of a deal but I dislike (hate) making bad decisions on any level. It took me about ten minutes to put this lesson behind me.
Bye the way the lesson was to SLOW DOWN and think. When we are fatigued we tend to worry rather than think. When are not thinking we make bad decisions. Simply, when fatigue sets in we do dopey things.
Observation of High Performing Individuals
Jul 6th
High performance individuals spend their energy focusing on what they CAN DO. They spend very little if any time on putting others down. The reason I say very little, even the highest performing amongst us at times will “stick it” to there greatest rivals or adversaries at times. This lapse in focus from high performing individuals seems to happen when fatigue sets in. None of us are perfect but those who are always putting others down, looking for things to criticize in others are only attempting to cover up their own insecurities. Yes, we need to critic others to learn and grow. But criticism is one of the four horseman of toxic and corrosive behavior. Simply, stay focused on what we CAN DO.
Note: The three other horseman of toxic and corrosive behavior are defensiveness, stonewalling, and contempt.
Carrie Underwood
Jul 4th
Last night I went with my family to The Stadium of Fire. The performance overall was very good, well organized, upbeat, positive, and fun. Carrie Underwood in particular was impressive. She first came out to sing the National Anthem well before it was her time to sing, I thought this showed a lack of ego and created a feeling that she wanted to be there. Later when she came out to perform she talked about how her last 5 years had been amazing. She had been a journalism major when she decided to “go for it” in reference to her entering American Idol. She mentioned that she simply turned her life over to the Lord and just followed her heart. 5 years later she is the top performing artist in the country. She came across as sincere, relaxed, confident (not arrogant), sweet, and fun. Her performance was long, but not too long. She consistently waved to the fans, danced a little, talked a little, and sung for about an hour. A balanced performance—nothing extreme.
Channeling of our most precious resource
Jun 3rd
Channeling ones energy in a constructive way has become of huge interest for me with the work that I do. I have observed athletes and non-athletes alike waste massive amounts of energy directing their attention (energy) onto variables that have little, or even detrimental impacts on their daily performance. Once an individual directs their attention in an approach (“can do”) way, it breaks the cycle of avoidance (“can’t do” or playing the game of life not to lose). This “can do” mind set propels activity in productive ways that can have staggering enhancements in performance. Which brings me to my main point. The channeling or directing of one’s attention to a “can do” mind set is best executed through the wise use of time. When we allow our focus to drift off to thoughts about tomorrow, next week etc, we inadvertently weaken our focus and displace our energy by spreading ourselves to thin. In addition, we waste energy on abstract concerns that are not real. Meaning they exist in our minds hence they are not real. There are so many possible variations to what could happen beyond the current day, that even contemplating the possibilities is exhausting. When we focus our energy to the present our resources combine, creating a oneness that can be a very powerful tool. Achieving our goals and ultimately our dreams become a part of everyday life. Overcoming adversity becomes an almost (I hesitate to say this) enjoyable part of everyday life in stark contrast to looking at adversity as life destroying. In closing, the channeling of one’s energy is the key to higher performance.
Often times Closure is the reward for trusting ourselves
May 26th
Through the years of studying higher performance, I have learned that trusting your inner promptings is a key component to high performance. A great deal of the work I do involves helping individuals get out of the way of themselves, so they can hear those inner promptings and feel their way through performances rather than thinking their way through the performances. This is how individuals get in the “zone.” What is interesting to me is the times I feel prompted to do something, I do it, but the result is not always (or often for that matter) what I anticipated. I always anticipate a good result when I follow my inner promptings, however, that good result is more times than not an answer of what not to do, or closure to some unresolved thought or issue. For example, I have felt prompted for some time now to drop off one of my books, “The Fearless Mind,” to a certain individual. When I finally got around to following this prompting, the feeling afterwards was one of ”why did I do that.” This feeling was not what I expected, I wasn’t thinking about anything prior or while dropping it off so I don’t believe my mind perpetuated this feeling. I will be interested to see if I get any follow-up in the future. In closing, following your inner promptings doesn’t always lead to bigger and better. Often times it leads to knowledge of a more closure nature.
Mental Skills Training: Avoid choking under pressure.
Apr 14th
I read an interesting study that was done by James Dimmock, psychologists at the University of Western Australia. He took 20 golfers and had them play a round focusing on cue words. Some focused on outcome cues, some focused on irrelevant cues and some focused on positive adjectives cues. There was not much difference between the players focusing on the words, but what they did find is that those golfers who were able to reduce anxiety with their words performed the best. Reducing anxiety during practice or a competition can set you up for the best results.
I spoke with a pole vaulter the other day who has graduated. Just some background here, this athlete was a very good jumper, top 5 in the NCAA, and two years in a row he no height-ed in the first round of the NCAA championships, (no height means, he did not make the height) He was ranked so high and was so talented that all he had to do in the first round was make one height and he would advance. I asked him what was going through his mind during both of these competitions. He told me that he was fixating on “all I have to do is make one bar, I have to make one height.” When he focused on these words his anxiety went through the roof and he said that he did not make good decisions. There is a direct relationship between anxiety, confidence, focus, and decision making, as anxiety rises, confidence, focus and decision making all decline. The same happens in reverse, as anxiety declines, confidence, focus and decision making all rise, which results in a great performance. This particular athlete was focused so much on the outcome of the event, that he almost forgot how to jump, he stopped executing specific skills that help him make the height.
The way that you can avoid choking in pressure situations is to reduce anxiety, by focusing on specific skills that will allow you to be successful, for pole vaulting it could be have a tall take off or run relaxed. Focusing on skills takes your mind away from focusing on the outcome. In tennis if you focus on playing the entire match hitting the ball out front, and executing that skill on every shot will give you the best chance for success. So again just to reaffirm what will help you avoid choking under pressure is, focusing on specific skills will and not the outcome will lower anxiety, thus raising confidence, focus, and decision making, allowing for a great performance.
There is one more key component here, it helps a great deal to ad a reassuring phrase to your game. One that is popular is “I can do this!” or “I got this!” I have also heard “Today is my day!” These phrase when said just before performing really help to build confidence, concentration, and decision making.
I recommend that when you are doing mental skills training you use a performance journal, or a mental skills journal, to log the skills you will focus on and to write down your reassuring phrase. When you write it down it becomes more powerful and real.