Summary: In order to make this blog post personally valuable to you, I'd like to start by asking you a couple of questions. First, whatever sport you play, how often do you play up to your potential, in other words, if you rate your best performance a 10, how often do you play at a 10? ... The next question I'd like to ask you is: If you can play at a 10 sometimes, why can't you do it more frequently? You obviously have the physical skills and ability or you wouldn't have been able to do it that one time. ... I’d like to suggest that the reason your game isn't consistent and you don't play up to your potential most of the time is strictly mental—specifically, your beliefs, feelings, and the meaning you give what happens while you play, all of which are within your power to change. It’s not how good you play, but how often you play that well. (http://www.mortylefkoe.com/wp-content/uploads/ML-blog-12.4.12-Tiger-jpg-150x150.jpg) Obviously you need the appropriate skills for your sport but, as Jim Loehr (a sports psychologist who has worked with a number of successful professional athletes) points out, "the distinguishing trademark of great players in any sport is not so much their exceptional talent, but rather their exceptional ability to consistently play at the peak of their talent." (Emphasis added.) Many others agree. For example, a story in USA Today pointed out: "For years, golf's top players have agreed: little separates the physical capabilities of the world's 100 or so best players. The difference between success and failure, they agree, largely depends on their approach, their handling of crisis situations on the course, their response to pressure, the ability to handle their emotions and fears and doubts. In short, it's the mental side of the game." (Emphasis added.) Does this sound like you? If you're like most serious amateur competitors, you don't complain very much about your physical limitations. Here is a list of some of the most common complaints. Which sound familiar to you? • "It's not that I don't know what to do, it's that I don't do what I know." • "The harder I try, the worse I seem to perform." • "I know exactly what I'm doing wrong on my forehand (or my putting, or my footwork, or my swimming stroke, etc.), but I just can't seem to break the habit." • "When I concentrate on one thing I'm supposed to be doing, I flub something else." • "I'm my own worst enemy." Notice that every one of these complaints is a mental one. Moreover, all of them are the result of pressure you put on yourself. In fact, Loehr contends, "If you can take the pressure off yourself, then winning will take care of itself." Why? What's the connection between pressure and your ability to perform? Tony Schwartz points out in a New York Magazine article that "Thoughts about losing or playing poorly may lead to fear and anxiety, which prompt an array of physiological reactions such as increased heart rate, muscle tightness, shortness of breath, reduced blood flow to the hands and feet, and even narrowing of vision. All of these reactions make it impossible to play up to one's potential. " How do you react to mistakes? According to Loehr: "The emotional downfall for most players is mistakes. Mistakes can trigger strong emotional responses (disappointment, embarrassment, anger, temper, low intensity) that can cause inconsistent or poor play. For some players, nearly every mistake represents an emotional crisis. But it's interesting to note that everyone manages mistakes the same way when they're playing well. They simply turn and walk away confidently, as if nothing happened. Ideally, the best emotional response to mistakes is to get challenged. A mistake is simply feedback to the mental computer that the shot wasn't perfect, that some adjustment is necessary. And the simple fact is that without mistakes, the learning process would be permanently blocked. No mistakes, no progress.
