Life imitates thought
I've always been a fan of "Energy Follows Thought", don't ask me where this came from, it's just something I've always felt was true and as it turns out according to the quantum physics it is true. In Lamens terms "whatever you are thinking you are going to create".
In fact, I'm reminded of a recent Instagram post where I shared a quote from my spiritual teacher John Roger;
A wise man once said that you are what you
think. He did not come straight out and say,
"You draw energy fields to yourself and charge
them with negativity or positivity." He used
the words that were applicable in the time
and the place in which he lived.
Manifestation does not discriminate
The reason this is so important to understand is that it is difficult to carry out a skill on the sporting field if you are not clear how it looks in your mind first. Most successful athletes perhaps take this idea for granted until something goes wrong, and they fail to complete the skill correctly, and then perhaps repeat it several times which may eventually lead to a slump in form. At this point the athlete in addition to being unable to perform that particular skill physically has also layered at least one if not several psychological roadblocks to performing the skill successfully again in the future.
So, the question is, what are the psychological roadblocks specifically for the athlete that need to be addressed and how is the situation reframed so the failure of the skill can be turned into something productive?
Firstly, the athlete needs to become aware of the thought process that was active when the skill was not completed for the first time. If the athlete is unable to recall what they were thinking, then an easy question might be to ask them to close their eyes and quickly go through a visualization of the activity whilst describing what they are seeing during the process. Its highly likely, at least in my experience the athlete will describe many things associated with the completion of the skill such as things that are going on around them at the time such as crowd noise, ambient temperature and light etc or how they are feeling about to complete the skill (usually unproductive anxiety or fear of incompletion) however neglect to describe the actual steps that are necessary to complete the skill. In other words, the most important part of completing the skill being the mental aspect of completion seems to have taken a back seat if not completely forgotten.
Before we move on to getting the athlete to describe the important steps to complete the skill now that we made them aware. Part of the process to get the athlete to understand the power of the idea that "Energy follows thought" is to paraphrase back and highlight the fact they actually were successful at not completing the skill because that's exactly what they were thinking about, hence, about to create prior to attempting to complete the skill. In plain language the athlete's energy was directed to all things that were likely to contribute to the incompletion of the skill, go figure. It then stands to reason if the athlete can begin to appreciate the power of their mind and how in this example, they created an incompletion then they can just as easily create completion through a simple redirection of energy on thoughts that contribute direction to skill completion.
Self judgement may lower competitive standard
Next the athlete needs to become aware of and reframe any beliefs they may have created about themselves that perhaps can interfere with their athletic ability further sabotaging skill completion. In this example let's say the athlete holds a judgement against themselves around their ability to achieve a high standard in their sport. Needless to say, all athletes no matter what level they are at or whatever the goals they wish to achieve they usually set a level of standard that is personal for them. In the case of an elite athlete where the standard is extremely high any judgement the athlete may hold against themself may and can destroy their career. Hence its vitally important to have a strategy that will negate any judgment of self, imbedding itself at a very deep level making it difficult to recover from.
Many sports psychologist discuss the importance of self-acceptance. I am also for self-acceptance however it's not something that is an active process. Even when it is used in an affirmation, many athletes I have worked with suggest when using this strategy suggests it just doesn't feel right i.e., completed. Instead, there is another active step or strategy that can be used on the way to self-acceptance and that is Forgiveness, and this is how you would use it. Firstly, let's explore the word For-giving. This means "I am FOR GIVING up my position that is sabotaging my performance. If we were to apply forgiveness to the example above the athlete would say, "I forgive myself for ...................."(not completing the skill e.g. dropping the ball etc) and then go on to say "I forgive myself for judging myself for.................."(get the picture), then I forgive myself for judging my ability to live the high standards I have set myself with love and with joy" Usually at this point when the athlete is asked how they now feel about themselves when reflecting upon the past incompletion they will state they feel more at ease.
Trust: The cornerstone of ability
Perhaps in addition to the above the athlete may have also dented the trust in their own ability moving forward. This too may have on going detrimental effects on their career maybe even cutting it short. Trust is one of those elusive qualities that we seem to want to place upon others that we love or are close to rather than realizing that it is misplaced as the only thing we can trust is ourselves and our own actions. As a simple example If I was going to lend you my car does this mean that I trust you. Well, some would say, yes. However, what about all the other drivers on the road, does that mean I trust them equally, so you are able to bring back my car in one piece. Well, no, of course not. The only thing I can actually trust here is my ability to hand you the keys and hope that I can control my emotions if my car is returned with damage. Therefore, trust is associated with only that which I can control.
So, in the case of the athlete in this example all they can trust is in their own ability. If that has been eroded, then how is trust in themself rebuilt. The obvious answer is to repeat the physical skill so many times the athlete's trust in themself returns. The only problem with this scenario is if we are talking about a skill performed in a particular environment that only occurs a handful of times over the season then it's likely the pressure the athlete may place on themselves will be even higher further contributing to the possibility of skill incompletion. As above we can only trust that which is in our own control. And in our control is only the ability to remain focused or direct energy toward the steps required to complete the skill, nothing else. Therefore, I place great emphasis on suggesting to the athlete the sole focus on the steps or action steps to complete the skill.
The closest to reality
If we are not able to practice the skill in exactly the same environment that we are likely to face due to lack of opportunities, then we are left with visualization. Without getting into specifics and the many research articles that support visualization let's just say that it is extremely effective. Perhaps you may recall the famous basketball player Michael Jordon, well he was known for regularly visualizing scoring the winning basket of the game. His coach Phil Jackson of the Chicago Bulls would sub Jordon in of the bench in the final minute knowing that MJ was capable of scoring the winning basket. The stats would suggest this was a winning strategy. It just goes to show how important and useful visualization can be. Anyway, back to our athlete in this example, visualization plays an important role to recover trust on one's athletic ability.
Final word
In conclusion the important points to remember when attempting to regain a high-level skill is to determine how the athlete has been relating to the completion of the skill, what steps are required to complete the skill, and how does the athlete see themselves in relation to completion of the skill and lastly has their trust in themselves been eroded in any way that be impact their completion of the skill in the future. It is in the attention to this detail that success will prevail.
Author: Dean Davies
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