Tag: challenges

Performance psychology, Sports Psychology

Mental Stretching

Dr. John Panepinto

One indicator of a Performance Mindset is how the athlete meets the moment in terms of change and adaptation. This would include development in any area of performance as well as to obstacles growth and execution. We could look at these situations as windows of opportunity in the present, short-term or farther out on the growth curve. There are two things to consider:

  1. Change and continuity
  2. Flow of energy and information

On some level, the moment is an expression of who we are and of our present mindset. It reveals what we are capable of right now. If improvement is simply doing the same thing better, we will hit a barrier to growth. A function of the Performance Mindset is to be equipped to adapt during times of plateau and challenge. For those who rely solely on resilience (getting through or toughing it out), the problem or situation re-presents itself and we continue to hit the same wall. We simply do not have the ability to “solve” the situation.

wesley-tingey-fWcmB3nTL9g-unsplash edited

Change and adaptation is about solving this problem on a new level. Yes, we change but we keep our sense of self and all the things that worked prior to meeting the new edge of growth. This sense of continuity is important and is how we can “tell the story” of our developmental arc. We look back and see “ourselves” and how we changed, how we improved.

Also, we see our sport in a new way. Our perspective changes. It includes where we have been (continuity) but allows us to go beyond the edges of our capability (change and adaptation) in a new form. This aspect of mindset speaks of openness and flexibility. We have to be open to the uniqueness of experience and the arc of growth—and to pursue to the edges of our awareness and skills. And we have to be flexible enough the bend, let go, and evolve with the demand.

Stretching routines are not just for the body. When we are not mentally open and flexible, we close the mind to the flow of energy and information. The required demands remain beyond the edges of our present mindset. Nothing flows. We keep rigid boundaries and ideas. We do not improve. We get similar results. We recycle the same processes.

We will look at the Performance Mindset in greater detail over the next few posts. For now, when you hit a wall or seem to be locked in the same pattern ask: Am I being open and flexible to the challenge?

 

If you would like more structure to take your mental approach to the next level, consider picking up a copy of my new sports psychology workbook: Above the Field of Play. Or to learn about other sports psychology services pricing (including an assessment of your present mental approach), visit my website at DrJohnPanepinto.com.

cover shot

photo credits: Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash (unspash.com)

Performance psychology, Sports Psychology

Dealing with Fear: 2 Questions

Dr. John Panepinto

Part One:

  1. What’s the difference between practice and performance?
  2. Do they feel different?

These questions may seem simple or obvious, but the answers point to many disappointments for many athletes. Somewhere along the athlete’s growth curve, the quality (feel, tone, engagement, intention, and intensity) of both practice and performance begin to take on a similar character. If you are an elite performer, then you are being this quality whenever you are engaged in some form of your endeavor. This represents the essence of aligned motivation meaning all your arrows are pointing in one direction.

This sense of being is a perspective that we will explore in greater depth in part two of this post. But for now, it is enough to say that in this stage of development the elite athlete has a sense of gratitude and purpose that is extremely fulfilling. Practice and competition are enlivened by the sense of uniqueness and connectedness of the activity, experiencing both change and continuity. This has been called “flow” by some, but the critical aspect is the true integration of being and doing in the present. In other words, you are simply being yourself and accepting who you are in that moment.

rock climber

Even for those just starting the competition journey in their sport, this critical component of performance begins to make sense. If not, something may be lurking beneath the surface and hindering your growth and the ability to execute at your best come “game time.” A sense of being “restrained” hinders the ability to fully immerse into the experience. The athlete in these moments will psychologically compartmentalize or have the past intrude upon the present and upset the balance required to execute.

Typically, fear lives at the bottom of not performing your best. Whether it’s at one end of the continuum, “Getting tight,” “Choking” or the subtle end that enters the mind as a “What if?” fear is the culprit. Fear gives rise to sensations, thoughts, actions, and feelings that veer one off the track of composed performance.

Most times athletes do not experience this during practice. There is more of a light and playful flavor to practice or training even in the most intense moments. Why? Because practice tends to be much more process-oriented in a safe setting and not necessarily focused on winning or losing.

The leap here is to realize each experience along the developmental arc—practice or play— is unique regardless of what seems to be at stake. When attitude (the arrows of motivation) is oriented on growth there is a far greater chance of being in the moment and owning the experience. Simply, big things are made up of little things. If the little thing feels bigger during competition, chances are fear is speaking to you and telling you that you have something to lose.

The truth is you have nothing to lose for you started with nothing. You may think you are losing something because of all you have put into the experience up to the point of performance. But the process is the reward. And this perspective begins to untie the knots of fear…

Next time we look at three concepts in dealing with fear.

 

If you would like more structure to take your mental approach to the next level, consider picking up a copy of my new sports psychology workbook: Above the Field of Play. Or to learn about other sports psychology services pricing (including an assessment of your present mental approach), visit my website at DrJohnPanepinto.com.

cover shot

photo credits: Photo by x ) on Unsplash (unspash.com)

Performance psychology, Sports Psychology

The Practice-Performance Connection (Part 2)

Dr. John Panepinto

When we think of transferring skills, habits, and knowledge from practice to performance, it’s good to take a look at the process. This transition plan needs to include aspects of all areas of performance. But, how do you create such a global plan? How do you practice focus? Frustration tolerance? Adaptation? Analysis? Decision-making? How do you know when you are at the edge of your development and what comes next?

The truth, on some level, is you are practicing all of these aspects of performance when you practice, but often your attention is on something different. Typically, awareness is external, or on a short-term performance goal and noticing the quality of outcomes. In other words, the mental skills mentioned above have an autonomous quality (like driving a car or tying your shoes) and one thing research tells us is that anything on automatic pilot tends to remain the same—because that is the very nature of its automatic quality.

It seems to me the missing piece is that no practice or performance, match or event is ever the same. So, if we put awareness on autopilot, we are, in effect, turning the uniqueness of the event into a pattern we already know, can perform, but most importantly, can control.

Sounds like a good thing, right?

diana-parkhouse-H8sqvuLE2CQ-unsplash

On some level, the control we feel reduces anxiety, stress, and allows the self-talk to run its prerecorded recordings. Again, even the pain of a poor performance is something of a pattern, something known, and we get over it. “I had a bad day.” “Nothing worked.” “He/She just played better.”

Still, a good thing, right?

Well, it turns out that this slice of experience is only a small part of a bigger picture. This compartment of a bigger, global perspective is structured to maintain the compartment and it resides a comfortable distant from the edge of your development. The bigger picture is where the more advanced version of yourself exists. In other words, in the bigger picture where your vision resides (a more evolved, capable version of yourself), your mindset is of a different quality. This is evident in thinking, processing, and in language.

The underlying principle is: You can’t solve problems on the level they were created.

This is the essence of goals. You can do something different because on a fundamental level, you are something different.

Why does this matter? This process of practice to performance, practice to performance, is the place of greatest leverage for player development. Unfortunately, it is also the place where plateaus are created, solidified, and become enmeshed in a player’s identity. It is the off-ramp to development, careers, and premature exits. Because a part of our mind innately rationalizes anything in this “compartment” to save us from pain, effort, and (here is the tricky part) to keep things the same (also known as a sense of “control”).

How do we prevent this? How do we keep the boundaries of the “compartment” malleable? How do we keep pushing the edges of development?

We’ll explore that in the next post…

 

If you would like more structure to take your mental approach to the next level, consider picking up a copy of my new sports psychology workbook: Above the Field of Play. Or to learn about other sports psychology services pricing (including an assessment of your present mental approach), visit my website at DrJohnPanepinto.com.

cover shot

photo credit: Diana Parkhouse (unsplash.com)

 

 

 

Performance psychology, Sports Psychology

A Simple Question to Improve Performance

Dr. John Panepinto

If you are a true student of your sport, you have noticed that no two events are ever the same. Truthfully, not even close. You may execute well in a similar way or make the same mistakes—but each event, practice, and every moment bring unique variables to the process.

For this reason, elite athletes possess a high level of flexibility and adaptability. They honor the principle of change. Nothing stays the same and in the living world you can bet on entropy or evolution.

To take this concept to the next level, make a simple question a staple of your pre-game and practice routines. Simply ask: Who am I today? As you are warming up, notice how you feel physically and mentally. Your body and mind are never the exactly the same as we are always teetering to and from equilibrium. Something is different as insignificant as it may seem. And if you are trying to improve mental and physical skills, there is always a growth curve on the way to better performance.

emily-morter-8xAA0f9yQnE-unsplash

As you get ready to compete, notice the connection between process and outcome. This is the true point of leverage of knowing who you are that day. Perhaps your three-point shot is a bit off. There are other ways to help the team rather than forcing miss after miss. Or maybe your putting or iron play is not as sharp. Ignoring this during the round can lead to big numbers. Maybe your missing your first serves. Rather than putting constant pressure on your second serves, spin some first serves in.

Rigidity in each of these cases does not lead to success. Worse still, you miss the opportunity to learn how to compete and succeed with less than your best. Shallow reasons for performance often follow rigidity: “I just didn’t have it today,” or worse, “Everyone has a bad day.”

The truth is: You had something, and you certainly had an opportunity. If you ask, “Who and I today?” you will find something to work with (and possibly discover something new about yourself). At the least, you will stay on the growth curve, for flexibility and adaptability foster the resilience required for long-term goals.

 

If you would like more structure to take your mental approach to the next level, consider picking up a copy of my new sports psychology workbook: Above the Field of Play. Or to learn about other sports psychology services pricing (including an assessment of your present mental approach), visit my website at DrJohnPanepinto.com.

cover shot

 

Photo by Emily Morter (Unsplash.com)

Performance psychology, Sports Psychology

Back-Up Plans

Dr. John Panepinto

What if Plan A doesn’t work? That’s a good question, and it applies to much of daily living. But there are a few spaces that require all the creative power we have in order to keep moving and to persist–and to resist resorting to Plan B. The value in the moment of devotion to Plan A is often lost in the challenge, obstacles, discomfort—and sometimes pain.

Einstein is credited for saying that we can’t solve problems with the same of level of thinking that we created them. Here is the space above the field of play that pulls us to creativity, capability, and movement. In other words, when faced with a challenge or obstacle, there is a developmental path that evolves from simplicity to complexity and back to simplicity—and we can become something more.

Consider the skills, habits, and knowledge required to play your sport. There is a wide gap between novice and expert, and this is the arc of growth and development. Each cycle you become something more—sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes in leaps and bounds.

back up plan

Again, there are just a few spaces where a Plan B is not a good idea nor should it be a part of consciousness. Having an “out” taints the awareness required to grow, be resilient, and figure it out. This applies in the moment when things are not working and you want to retire, quit, or default. And it applies in the greater arcs on the path to your long-term goals.

If we look deeply, those spaces mentioned are ones with deep connections and meaning. You would wouldn’t enter any vital role in life with a Plan B…

“Well, if this fatherhood thing doesn’t work out…”

“If this marriage doesn’t work out…”

In the moment you can’t have one foot in and one out literally or symbolically. Commitment is required and passion wanes without vision.

The true benefit of seeing a plan through to its natural end is the deepening of character and competence on a level you would never attain while having a back-up plan. You may or may not reach your long-term goals, but that is only part of the picture. The commitment and devotion to worthy goals changes us to the core. And these qualities spread into every aspect of life.

At Wit’s End, there is the lure of Plan B—but the option is only to ease the pain. Truthfully, Wit’s End is simply a crossroads, a turning point to a higher level and greater capacity…

And, as Albert implied, new levels of thinking and doing.

If you would like more structure to take your mental approach to the next level, consider picking up a copy of my new sports psychology workbook: Above the Field of Play. Or to learn about other sports psychology services pricing (including an assessment of your present mental approach), visit my website at DrJohnPanepinto.com.

cover shot