Friday, November 12, 2010

How the Mind Determines Athletic Success--Morty Lefkoe


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Oct 19, 2010 -
In order to make this blog post personally valuable to you, I'd like to start by asking you a couple of questions.  First, whatever sport you play, how often do you play up to your potential, in other words, if you rate your best performance a 10, how often do you play at a 10?

The next question I'd like you to answer is: If you can play at a 10 sometimes, why can't you do it more frequently?  You obviously have the physical skills and ability or you wouldn't have been able to do it that one time.

I’d like to suggest that the reason your game isn't consistent and you don't play up to your potential most of the time is strictly mental—specifically, your beliefs, attitudes and feelings—all of which are within your power to change.

Obviously you need the appropriate skills for your sport but, as Jim Loehr (a sports psychologist who has worked with a number of successful professional athletes) points out, "the distinguishing trademark of great players in any sport is not so much their exceptional talent, but rather their exceptional ability to consistently play at the peak of their talent."

Many others agree.  For example, a story in USA Today pointed out: "For years, golf's top players have agreed: little separates the physical capabilities of the world's 100 or so best players.  The difference between success and failure, they agree, largely depends on their approach, their handling of crisis situations on the course, their response to pressure, the ability to handle their emotions and fears and doubts.  In short, it's the mental side of the game."

If you're like most serious amateur competitors, you don't complain very much about your physical limitations.  Here is a list of some of the most common complaints.  Which sound familiar to you?

  • "It's not that I don't know what to do, it's that I don't do what I know."
  • "The harder I try, the worse I seem to perform."
  • "I know exactly what I'm doing wrong on my forehand (or my putting, or my footwork, or my swimming stroke, etc.), but I just can't seem to break the habit." 
  • "When I concentrate on one thing I'm supposed to be doing, I flub something else."
  • "I'm my own worst enemy."
Notice that every one of these complaints is a mental one.  Moreover, all of them are the result of pressure you put on yourself.

In fact, Loehr contends, "If you can take the pressure off yourself, then winning will take care of itself."

Why?  What's the connection between pressure and your ability to perform?

Tony Schwartz points out in a New York Magazine article that "Thoughts about losing or playing poorly may lead to fear and anxiety, which prompt an array of physiological reactions such as increased heart rate, muscle tightness, shortness of breath, reduced blood flow to the hands and feet, and even narrowing of vision.  All of these reactions make it impossible to play up to one's potential. " 

Mistakes
"The emotional downfall for most players is mistakes," according to Loehr.  "Mistakes can trigger strong emotional responses (disappointment, embarrassment, anger, temper, low intensity) that can cause inconsistent or poor play.  For some players, nearly every mistake represents an emotional crisis.  But it's interesting to note that everyone manages mistakes the same way when they're playing well.  They simply turn and walk away confidently, as if nothing happened.  

Ideally, the best emotional response to mistakes is to get challenged.  A mistake is simply feedback to the mental computer that the shot wasn't perfect, that some adjustment is necessary.  And the simple fact is that without mistakes, the learning process would be permanently blocked.  No mistakes, no progress.  But negative emotion also blocks the progress and is a natural response to mistakes.  So what's the answer?  The answer is that players must train emotionally so that mistakes produce the right emotional response."

It might be possible to "train emotionally," but ultimately emotions are the result of beliefs and conditionings.  Eliminate the beliefs and conditionings and the emotions change automatically.  Imagine the following: You have the belief that a ball being hit into the net (or into the water, etc., depending on your sport) is a mistake, and mistakes mean there is something wrong with you.  Now imagine that the ball hits the net or goes into the water.  What would you have to feel? Angry at yourself, annoyed, frustrated, hopeless, etc. 

Now imagine this scenario: You have the belief that there is no such thing as a mistake, that every result that isn’t what you intended is an opportunity to learn how to improve your game.  Moreover, you believe that not achieving your intended result means nothing about you. Now imagine that the ball hits the net or goes into the water.  What would you feel in this situation?  You might find it difficult to imagine right now that there are only outcomes and no mistakes, but just do your best to imagine the scenario I've just described.  Okay? What would you feel?  Challenged, calm, curious, or possibly nothing at all.

What happens physiologically when you think you've made a mistake?  Too much negative energy, which gets translated into being too excited, too angry, too anxious.  Some typical signs of over‑arousal include: 

  • Legs feel weak and rubbery.
  • Difficulty in concentrating and focusing.
  • Everything seems to be going faster than it really is.
  • Inability to think clearly and accurately.
  • Attention gets focused on one thing and refocusing is difficult.
  • Become fatigued very quickly.
Changing your belief about mistakes would minimize these conditions.

Stress is an interpretation
"The greatness of a Gretsky, a Connors, a Palmer, or an Evert is not that they perform well under pressure," Loehr contends.  "No one performs well under pressure.  Their greatness is in their learned ability to take the pressure off.  In the face of great external pressure, these [top] performers felt almost no anxiety.  To the contrary, they felt calm and peaceful inside but also highly energized, positive, and enthusiastic.

"It is this skill that separates the superstars from the troops—they have the ability to take pressure off, transforming crisis into opportunity and threat into challenge.  All that stands between you and that ability is your own head!  Pressure is something you put on yourself."

Nothing is inherently stressful.  In other words, stress doesn't exist "out there" and nothing “out there” causes stress.  Stress originates in the mind and exists only in the mind; it's the result of an interpretation.  Change the interpretation by changing beliefs and the stress will disappear. 

For example, assume you had a project to complete and had a number of limiting beliefs, including I’m not capable and Nothing I do is good enough. What would you feel as you began the project? Some level of stress. And it would feel as if the project was causing the stress, wouldn’t it? 

Now let’s assume you had the same project but had the opposite beliefs, including I am capable and Whatever I do is good enough.  If your beliefs made you feel confident that you would do a good job, do you still think the project would make you feel stress? … Unlikely.  Same project, but different beliefs would result in different levels of stress.

By changing your beliefs, something that had been experienced as stressful can be experienced as fun or challenging.

Control your mind, improve your game.  It really is possible.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The 10 major causes of failure in leadership-- Napoleon Hill

We come now to the major faults of leaders who fail, because it is just as essential to know WHAT NOT TO DO as it is to know what to do.
  1. INABILITY TO ORGANIZE DETAILS. Efficient leadership calls for ability to organize and to master details. No genuine leader is ever “too busy” to do anything which may be required of him in his capacity as leader. When a man, whether he is a leader or follower, admits that he is “too busy” to change his plans, or to give attention to any emergency, he admits his inefficiency. The successful leader must be the master of all details connected with his position. That means, of course, that he must acquire the habit of relegating details to capable lieutenants.
  2. UNWILLINGNESS TO RENDER HUMBLE SERVICE. Truly great leaders are willing, when occasion demands, to perform any sort of labour which they would ask another to perform. “The greatest among ye shall be the servant of all” is a truth which all able leaders observe and respect.
  3. EXPECTATION OF PAY FOR WHAT THEY “KNOW” INSTEAD OF WHAT THEY DO WITH THAT WHICH THEY KNOW. The world does not pay men for that which they “know.” It pays them for what they DO, or induce others to do.
  4. FEAR OF COMPETITION FROM FOLLOWERS. The leader who  fears that one of his followers may take his position is practically sure to realize that fear sooner or later. The able leader trains understudies to whom he may delegate, at will, any of the details of his position. Only in this way may a leader multiply himself and prepare himself to be at many places, and give attention to many things at one time. It is an eternal truth that men receive more pay for their ABILITY TO GET OTHERS TO PERFORM, than they could possibly earn by their own efforts. An efficient leader may, through his knowledge of his job and the magnetism of his personality, greatly increase the efficiency of others, and induce them to render more service and better service than they could render without his aid.
  5. LACK OF IMAGINATION. Without imagination, the leader is incapable of meeting emergencies, and of creating plans by which to guide his followers efficiently.
  6. 6. SELFISHNESS. The leader who claims all the honour for the work of his followers, is sure to be met by resentment. The really great leader CLAIMS NONE OF THE HONORS. He is contented to see the honours, when there are any, go to his followers, because he knows that most men will work harder for commendation and recognition than they will for money alone.
  7. INTEMPERANCE. Followers do not respect an intemperate leader. Moreover, intemperance in any of its various forms, destroys the endurance and the vitality of all who indulge in it.
  8. DISLOYALTY. Perhaps this should have come at the head of the list. The leader who is not loyal to his trust, and to his associates, those above him, and those below him, cannot long maintain his leadership. Disloyalty marks one as being less than the dust of the earth, and brings down on one’s head the contempt he deserves. Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.
  9. EMPHASIS OF THE “AUTHORITY” OF LEADERSHIP. The efficient leader leads by encouraging, and not by trying to instill fear in the hearts of his followers. The leader who tries to impress his followers with his “authority” comes within the category of leadership through FORCE. If a leader is a REAL LEADER, he will have no need to advertise that fact except by his conduct—his sympathy, understanding, fairness, and a demonstration that he knows his job.
  10. EMPHASIS OF TITLE. The competent leader requires no “title” to give him the respect of his followers. The man who makes too much over his title generally has little else to emphasize. The doors to the office of the real leader are open to all who wish to enter, and his working quarters are free from formality or ostentation.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A STATISTICAL LOOK AT THE 2010 NCAA TOURNAMENT

(From Minnesota Duluth Newsletter)
64 GAMES
1. FG PERCENT DEFENSE – KEEPING YOUR OPPONENT’S FG % LOWER THAN YOURS -
.825 52 OF 63 (1 TIE)
2. FREE THROW ATTEMPTS – ATTEMPTING MORE THAN YOUR OPPONENT –
.726 45 OF 62 (2 TIES)
3. FOULS – COMMIT FEWER FOULS THAN YOUR OPPONENT –
.698 44 OF 63 (1 TIE)
4. FT PERCENTAGE – SHOOT A BETTER FT PERCENTAGE THAN YOUR OPPO-NENT –
.689 42 OF 61 (3 TIES)
5. 3 PT FG % DEFENSE – DEFEND THE 3 BALL BETTER THAN YOUR OPPONENT –
.678 40 OF 59 (5 TIES)
6. REBOUNDING – OUTREBOUND YOUR OPPONENT –
.677 42 OF 62 (2 TIES)
7. TURNOVERS – COMMIT FEWER TO’S THAN YOUR OPPONENT –
.579 33 OF 57 (7 TIES)
8. STEALS – HAVE MORE STEALS THAN YOUR OPPONENT –
.537 29 OF 54 (10 TIES)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Thoughts From Dick Bennett

  • Learned everything through trial and error. Early on most of it failed.  You learn the most out of failure, if you can persist through it.
  • "Men who achieve greatness do not work more complexly than the average man, but more simply In dealing with complex problems, with the simplicity that is natural to him he goes directly to the point, unaffected by the confusion of details in which another man would have lost himself."
  • Recommended “War” by Sebastian Junger
  • Collective defense can be so compelling-so addictive, in fact- that eventually it becomes the rationale for why the group exists in the first place. I think almost every man at Restrepo secretly hoped he enemy would make a seriously try at overrunning the place before the deployment came to an end. It was everyone’s worst nightmare but also the thing they hoped for most, some ultimate demonstration of the bond and fighting ability of the men”  From WAR by Junger
  • Used this quote to talk about a defensive identity of a team
  • If you can have a defensive identity then you will enjoy more success then you ever have before.
  • Game Coaching-He was always up when they were on defense because he felt his players needed great motivation from the coaches.  Especially on the road
  • Stay on top of the defense and let the offense take care of itself. (Cant be in their ear offensively)
  • Wanted to make teams play offense for as long as possible, because offense wants to score as quickly as possible.
10 CONCEPTS
  1. Eliminate Losing—What causes you to lose games?  Offensive rebounds, fouls, turnovers, lack of hustle…
  2. Choose Personnel wisely—It’s a team game and everyone must put the team 1st.  More enjoyable to coach & in the long run will make you more successful.  Can’t rehabilitate players at the college level. 
  3. Importance of emphasis—Emphasize what matters most to you.  What is important to you?  It’s not what you know, its what THEY (your players) know
  4. Players must understand
      -Anticipation is to defense as reaction is to offense
      -Getting Back is to defense as taking care of the all is to Offense
      -Protecting the lane is to defense as Penetration is to offense
5.   Rebounding, loose balls, and turnovers are the X factors—IF you chart 1 thing             it should be these things.  Difference between winning and losing.
6.   Need Non-Negotiatbles—Getting Back on Defense & Sureness with the ball.
7.   Offense must offer sound ball handling potential and an inside/outside             scoring potential.   BALANCE
8.   Quality is the standard of measurement… Evaluate Accordingly—“Don’t        accept in victory, what you wouldn’t in defeat.”  Have a standard
9.   Have an identity.
10. Which Character traits are important to you and your team?


  • Everything you do and say has to be teachable
  • Recruit/develop people of character
  • Core Values: Servanthood, passion factor, humility, Unity (the ultimate test of how we play)
  • Unity isn’t during team activities its evident on roadtrips when playing time is handed out.  Talk about unity and insist on it!
  • “Are you gonna get up” talking about after a loss or a setback.
  • Be thankful for defeats because you can learn more from them.

Following is from his last year at Washington State
Defense
·         Get back
·         Set our D
·         Pressure the ball
·         Pack off the ball (1 +4) 1 on ball, plus 4 their to help
·         Block out and rebound
·         Change the game on Defense


       Offense
·         Catch & Pass with Sureness
·         Run hard when we run
·         Break the defense down (Screens, Cuts, Pass, Dribble)
·         Take good shots
·         Get back or get an offensive rebound

        Characteristics
·         We will be humble
·         We will be passionate
·         We will be unified
·         We will be servants
·         We will be thankful