Does Focusing on Winning Keep You From Playing Your Best?
When you lose a game, do you throw your equipment?
Are you angry with your coach, your teammates, the official?
Do you replay every mistake you made and tell yourself how bad you are?
When your friends and family try to console you, do storm off and sulk?
Does this sound like you or someone you care about after a loss?
The typical athlete struggles with making mistakes and chokes
Lorrie was a high school tennis player, her parents would begin to prepare for a rough night everytime she went to a match. If Lorrie had lost the match, it would be a horrible night for the whole family. She would come home and slam doors, she would yell at her little brother to stay away from her stuff. If someone in the family tried to ease the mood and tell a joke or a funny story from the day she would leave and go sulk in her room.
Lorrie’s parents would see it coming during the match. As soon as she would drop serve, everything would begin to fall apart in her game. She couldn’t bounce back, they could hear her yell at herself during the match.
What athletes need to do at the level of the inner mind
Lorrie loved playing tennis but she could not handle any situations that didn’t go her way. She was hard on herself, harder than her coaches were. She felt like she had to be perfect all the time. She worked hard in practice and always did well.
Lorrie began playing tennis when she was very young and loved the sport right away. She was excited to go to her lessons and play with her friends. She loved being outside and playing the game.
Her parents told me it started to change in junior high. She had been winning tournaments and was very successful. In high school colleges were coming around and noticing how good she was. She pushed herself even harder in her training. She was determined to get a scholarship. Winning became everything.
The way most athletes get confidence is completely backwards
Lorrie and many other athletes find themselves in this “game”. If they win they feel great, if they lose they feel bad. Good performance = Feel Good, Bad Performance = Feel Bad. The problem with this “game” is we can not control all the outcomes and situations. We could play great and still lose, it’s possible! Some people have won games and played horrible.
So how do you work all of this out?
So let me ask this question….
When do you play better? When you feel good or feel bad? Dumb question right? We all play better when we feel good. So if we want to play good we need to feel good first. Most athletes don’t even know this is possible. Once they understand this principle they can unlock the potential for their Peak Performance.
Let me tell you a secret that puts athletes in the Peak Performance State….
You can make yourself feel good Anytime you want. You don’t have to wait for something good to happen to feel good, you can do it on your own.
Let me give you an example; when my daughter was 10 years old we had planned a trip to Disneyland. She had never been and she couldn’t wait to go. She was so excited on the drive to the park she could hardly sit still. She felt so good just thinking about the fun she was going to have, It was the greatest day of her young life, before she ever went on ride.
You can feel good first in competition too, even before you step on the court or field. You just have to clear the interference that prevents you feeling good. Most of don’t have interference blocks that keep us from having fun at Disneyland. Clear the Interference, get in our Peak Performance State anytime you want to to feel good.
If you can learn to feel good at anytime, in any situation, you can always have a great performance. The RACE Formula will teach you to feel good whenever you want your best performance.
Start feeling your best all the time by implementing very simple tools to feel good and play good, give me a call and let me share the RACE Formula with you. Go ahead call right now 661-350-6052 and
Start Winning Today
Steve Pinkston
Mental Toughness Trainer
MentalToughnessCoaches.com