The Art of Mental Training - a Guide to Performance Excellence (Classic Edition) by D. C. Gonzalez Page B
Authors: D. C. Gonzalez
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mistakes begin to
happen—typically the very mistakes they are most fearful of making."
“I see what you’re saying, how
the thought of something going wrong can make it worse,” I agreed.
“Fear can cause the warrior to
focus on the negative. The fearful competitor can become over-cautious, and
decide to ‘play it safe’—instead of playing to win.
Fear can turn a competitor from
someone trying to win, into someone trying not to lose. Once that confidence
is gone, any advantage that the warrior may have had over his opponent begins
to disappear.”
“But how do you manage fear?”
Leo-tai smiled at my question.
“Where is the fear? Fear happens inside your head, and thus it can be
managed. A certain amount of fear energy is normal in competitive or dangerous
situations. What’s important is to not let it grow out of control—and to know
what to do in case it does. Remember this: a champion knows that fear is only
as powerful as he lets it become. Fear of something in the future—or even in
the past, for that matter—can also be a tremendously powerful experience.
Therefore it is important and necessary to take back some of the power of the
emotion. The Warrior/Champion does this by bringing himself back into the
present moment, and the easiest way to do that, Danielsan, is to focus and
watch your breathing. You must bring your breathing under control in order to
ground yourself in the present.”
“You mean, make a decision to
focus on your breathing?”
“Exactly. That’s where we
start. You must focus and breathe in a controlled way. Watch your breathing.
Control your breathing. Doing this has a calming effect; but more importantly,
it brings you back into the present moment. Once you are back, once you have
returned to the present you (or any warrior) must then face his fear.”
“Confront your fear.” I suggested.
“Indeed. Ask yourself what you
are so afraid of. Confront it rationally. This you must do before you can
face your fear down and set off to do whatever it is that you must do.
Recalling times when you have been successful in the past or successful during
training can help shut down fear. Recalling how well you typically perform,
how much you love the sport, the competition, the challenge, or how well you do
your job can also prove helpful. Then, you must decide upon a strategy and
move ahead and embrace the challenge set before you despite any fear.”
It all sounded possible and
even empowering, but I still had one question.
“How do I prevent the negative
thoughts that help make me fearful?” I asked.
“Interrupt them," he said,
"The instant that you notice them. Replace them—drown them out—with
positive self-talk and images. You must re-direct the energy of fear and
channel it into self-confidence. This is one way that you can begin to
transform the energy.”
He then rose. “There is only
one energy prior to a confrontation or a major challenge; and the energy is
telling you to get ready. If you feel the energy to be more like fear rather
than self-confidence—remember that it is happening in your head. Against fear,
Danielsan, you must have the spirit of attack, against fear, one can always
win.”
Remember: Against fear, one
can always win. Confront the fear and then engage a strategy to move forward
despite the fear.
The
Art of Mental Training
Chapter 14: On Performance Choking
Leo-tai and I were discussing a
national competition, which we’d just watched together.
“Have you ever noticed,” he
mused, “How sometimes, even when an athlete’s performance seems to be going
really well, that it’s almost as if some sort of stress takes hold of their entire
game and everything starts going downhill for them?”
How interesting I thought: he’s
so right. Why is it that big leads and strong advantages all seem to crumble
and disappear under pressure sometimes? No player is immune
happen—typically the very mistakes they are most fearful of making."
“I see what you’re saying, how
the thought of something going wrong can make it worse,” I agreed.
“Fear can cause the warrior to
focus on the negative. The fearful competitor can become over-cautious, and
decide to ‘play it safe’—instead of playing to win.
Fear can turn a competitor from
someone trying to win, into someone trying not to lose. Once that confidence
is gone, any advantage that the warrior may have had over his opponent begins
to disappear.”
“But how do you manage fear?”
Leo-tai smiled at my question.
“Where is the fear? Fear happens inside your head, and thus it can be
managed. A certain amount of fear energy is normal in competitive or dangerous
situations. What’s important is to not let it grow out of control—and to know
what to do in case it does. Remember this: a champion knows that fear is only
as powerful as he lets it become. Fear of something in the future—or even in
the past, for that matter—can also be a tremendously powerful experience.
Therefore it is important and necessary to take back some of the power of the
emotion. The Warrior/Champion does this by bringing himself back into the
present moment, and the easiest way to do that, Danielsan, is to focus and
watch your breathing. You must bring your breathing under control in order to
ground yourself in the present.”
“You mean, make a decision to
focus on your breathing?”
“Exactly. That’s where we
start. You must focus and breathe in a controlled way. Watch your breathing.
Control your breathing. Doing this has a calming effect; but more importantly,
it brings you back into the present moment. Once you are back, once you have
returned to the present you (or any warrior) must then face his fear.”
“Confront your fear.” I suggested.
“Indeed. Ask yourself what you
are so afraid of. Confront it rationally. This you must do before you can
face your fear down and set off to do whatever it is that you must do.
Recalling times when you have been successful in the past or successful during
training can help shut down fear. Recalling how well you typically perform,
how much you love the sport, the competition, the challenge, or how well you do
your job can also prove helpful. Then, you must decide upon a strategy and
move ahead and embrace the challenge set before you despite any fear.”
It all sounded possible and
even empowering, but I still had one question.
“How do I prevent the negative
thoughts that help make me fearful?” I asked.
“Interrupt them," he said,
"The instant that you notice them. Replace them—drown them out—with
positive self-talk and images. You must re-direct the energy of fear and
channel it into self-confidence. This is one way that you can begin to
transform the energy.”
He then rose. “There is only
one energy prior to a confrontation or a major challenge; and the energy is
telling you to get ready. If you feel the energy to be more like fear rather
than self-confidence—remember that it is happening in your head. Against fear,
Danielsan, you must have the spirit of attack, against fear, one can always
win.”
Remember: Against fear, one
can always win. Confront the fear and then engage a strategy to move forward
despite the fear.
The
Art of Mental Training
Chapter 14: On Performance Choking
Leo-tai and I were discussing a
national competition, which we’d just watched together.
“Have you ever noticed,” he
mused, “How sometimes, even when an athlete’s performance seems to be going
really well, that it’s almost as if some sort of stress takes hold of their entire
game and everything starts going downhill for them?”
How interesting I thought: he’s
so right. Why is it that big leads and strong advantages all seem to crumble
and disappear under pressure sometimes? No player is immune
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