Time: 8:30-9:15pm
When: Thursday, February 25, 2010
For more information email: justin@suasportpsychology.com
An integral part of performing on purpose, with purpose is having clear set goals and performance routines. I have written before that the average athlete leaves to chance what an elite athlete does on purpose.
Distractions are detrimental to flow and having a routine you stick to facilitates focus and helps you commit to the task at hand. In my last 'tweet' I said, "you cannot fully control your performance if you cannot control yourself". Having a routine and clear set goals are good ways to control your performance.
Consider the following questions:
-Do you go into a performance with clear set goals?
-Do you have a pre-performance routine?
-Do you plan your reaction to adversity?
If you answered 'no' to any of these questions, take some time to create clear goals and develop routines that will help you focus and perform on purpose, with purpose.
The principle of clear goals and routines can also affect performance outside the athletic arena. Here are some more questions:
-Do you have daily routines?
-Do you have your day planned out so that you are living on purpose?
-Do you find yourself regretting how you used your "free time"?
Once again, clear set goals and routines will put you in a good position to experience peak performance.
I was talking to a high school football player today and I asked him to tell me what he is going to do differently to be a better player next year. He replied, "I want to work harder during practice, I usually just do enough to get by". His answer inspired this article.
Have you ever been "expected" to get a hit, score 20 pts., score a number of goals, or perform at a certain level? As athletes it may be difficult to live up the expectations of coaches, parents, fans, teammates, and even ourselves.
In setting expectations for yourself, consider having the following to be one of the most important expectations you focus on: Give your BEST EFFORT in the present moment.
If you focus on giving your best effort in the present moment, the score won't matter, worrying about what others think won't be a factor, and you will be commited to your movements because fear of failure will not hinder your performance.
Did you give your best today?
So how do you get rid of "stinking thinking"? After you have become aware of the trash, you need to take it out by replacing it with performance enhancing thoughts such as:
Yesterday I was sitting down with a Division I college wrestler who told me what his goals are for the season, I followed up with the question, "Why are those your goals?" He paused for a moment, looked at me and said, "That's a good question...I don't know." The elite performers whether they be athletes, parents, students, or dancers have something in common: They know WHY they do things. What the average person leaves to chance, the elite athlete does deliberately, they perform on purpose, with purpose, and as that wise softball coach said, having a WHY behind your actions will bring more power in doing them.
Can you remember your worst performance? Has there ever been a time you had bad performance, after bad performance, which was followed by a horrible performance? What was going through your mind? Did you ever contemplate quitting?
Now take time to think about the answer to the following question: Why didn’t you quit?
I’m not a mind reader, but I can tell you that your answer has something to do with your motivation. Your motivation gives you the power to keep going, especially when times get tough because both you and I know that in the world of sports, you WILL fail at times. However, the athletes with a powerful WHY behind their purpose for playing are given something I call staying power, or rather, the power to endure adversity. Renown Sport Psychology Consultant Ken Ravizza once told us that, “adversity is the fertilizer of growth”. To go along with this analogy, if adversity is fertilizer; motivation is the power to push through the adversity even though it stinks and there is a lot of it.
If your motivation is strong enough, you will continue to play on purpose, with purpose even if you find yourself in one of these situations:
· You feel you are better than the person playing in front of you
· You don’t get along with the coach
· You are injured and may miss a significant amount of the season, or the entire season
· Your team is in last place
· You are in a terrible slump or having the worst season of your career
So now let me ask you...What is YOUR motivation? Why?