The longer I live, the more...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
- Charles R. Swindoll
These numbers seem pretty strong. And I am sure these figures severely underestimate sociology and the power of context. I do not know if you can assign accurate numbers, but I am sure life is part what happens to you and part how you react to it.
In other words- Life is Choice.
Life is filled with choices, made up of trade offs which include their own respective consequences, some of which we cannot see, only predict. The consequences in turn shape your life to some extent.
So at the most basic level, your choices affect your life.
My parents always stressed two big concepts to my brothers and I- (1) Always be a good person (2) Always use good common sense.
Both are important!
I've heard it said, "good things happen to good people" and "what goes around comes around." Neither of these are true in a literal sense, all the time. These saying hold up sometimes, but not always.
I have seen many "good" people make bad decisions that have literally ruined their life. Good people who made 1 bad decision, 1 time.
This is not to say that everything you do has life affecting consequences. But the truth is, some choices you make do have THAT big of an impact.
But remember! You do not only have a choice in big matters. You have a choice all the time. The first step to controlling your life is recognizing that you are in control of your life (at least to some degree). Remember life is part what happens to you, but also part how you react to it. How you react to life are your choices. And good decision making is crucial to a happy and successful life.
You have control of your choices. You can choose to be a victim or anything else. (-peaceful warrior).
Realize you can choose to let someone anger, annoy, or upset you or not.
You can choose to eat healthy or not, go all out or hold back, exercise or not, take drugs or not, have unprotected sex or not etc.
All life is a choice. Even reading this right now is a choice. You can choose to do what you want.
This is a very empowering and liberating idea. Imagine living under Communism with no choice at all. You would be dying to come to a Democracy, like you live in, with the options and choices before you right now.
Start appreciating your choice.
Another thing to remember is to only concern yourself with things you have control of. Do not waste time worrying about things you cannot control. This will lead to unnecessary fear, anxiety, and stress.
Your Choice (which includes how you will act) is the only thing you can control. Do not overly concern yourself with other people's decisions and actions, even if they work against you. Just decide what you want to do from this point forward.
The second step to controlling your life is realizing NOW is the moment of power. Now is the time we harvest the crops of the past and plant the seeds for the future. There is power that lies in the past or future. The past does shape where we are now. The future does shape the course of action we will take now. But, the PRESENT is the only time that you can act.
So our first two steps to controlling our life are (1) Recognizing you have a choice and (2) Realizing that Now is the only moment you are capable of acting on your choice.
You can choose to act in the future, but you are only capable of acting in the present. Concern yourself with (1) Your Power of Choice and (2) The Present Moment
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Mindset Monday 2/7/11- Pull the Trigger
Pull the Trigger
To sum up Sport/Performance Psychology in a 3 word sentence- Pull the trigger!
This is analogous to the Nike slogan of "Just Do It." However, I like "pull the trigger" because it commands the most attention and includes a sense of urgency.
When it comes right down to it, you are faced with one major decision in life- Am I going to go all out OR am I going to hold back? (thank you Dr. Rob Gilbert) Are you going to make it happen or are you going to sit back and hope it happens? I'm sure anyone reading this does not need to be convinced that the difference between champions in sports and life are the ones who make things happen. Champions pull the trigger.
There are many things that could inhibit someone from pulling the trigger- fear, past experience, over analysis, etc etc. Many people have a misconception that champions do not go through similar mental discomforts- they are just different kinds of people than we are, they say. Well guess what? Champions are human just like anyone else- never subhuman or superhuman, but simply human. They have emotions, doubts, fears, nervousness, and past failures just like anyone else, but they act ANYWAY.
A warrior isn't about perfection or victory or invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability- that's the only true courage. (Peaceful Warrior)
Champions do not let doubts, fears, and past failures cripple them from taking action. Typically, a champion uses "failure" to motivate themselves to take more action. Champions will pull the trigger.
Many do not realize this, but Champions lose more than normal people lose. Why? Because they make more attempts than ordinary people. The difference is that they continue to take action no matter what their outcomes. Surely they use their failures as feedback and thus look honestly at themselves and make modifications when necessary, but they continue to act, they continue to pull the trigger.
Take a look at a few examples of Champions losing more than normal people:
~Few people would think that the hitter who struck out most times in baseball history would be thought of as a good player, much less a baseball hall of famer, Mr. October REGGIE JACKSON.
~Or that the batter who made the most outs ever would also have the most hits- does PETE ROSE ring a bell?
~ Surely the pitcher with the most all time losses would be sent back to the minors. He wouldn't be the pitcher with the most all time wins would he? Would they name the Most Valuable Pitcher the CY YOUNG award?
~You would think the basketball player who missed over 9,000 shots, lost almost 300 games, missed the game winning shot 26 times, and cut from freshman high school team would be MICHAEL JORDAN.
~Just google the "successes and failures of ABRAHAM LINCOLN" if you want to see real adversity and bouncing back from losses!
NJ wrestling great Andrew Flanagan once said that in high school he wrestled in higher divisions in the off-season and thus had a lot of losses. But that made him tougher and was a big contributor to his success. He said, "if you're not losing, your not wrestling good enough competition." You can apply this to any area in life. The Champion seeks the best competition. He goes for the challenge, to test himself. We often tend to compete at the level of our competition. So to raise your level, raise your competition. How many people could have been so much better if they would have chosen to join the pack of lions instead of assuming the lead among wolves. Yeah it may feel good, but which will make you better? Ask yourself that honestly. Is your goal to look good in front of people and feel good? Or is it to get as good as you can (which of course will eventually lead to recognition and good self feelings)?
I love to hear the reasoning when I hear great performers call BS on Sport/Performance Psychology. They say "that stuff" is garbage. I don't think about psychology or anything for that matter. I just do it.
When I hear this I always laugh to myself because theirin lies the master of Performance Psychology. If I had to make a brief list of what Performance Psychology in a nutshell it would be (1)Help person find what they want (2)Come up with a plan of how to achieve it (3)Get person to take action (3)Get person to step out of their own way (get their mind and body to work together). That's it!
The Champions who call a bluff on Performance Psychology do naturally exactly as they are supposed to (they just do not realize it) - they know what they want, they act, they don't get in their own way by over thinking or negative thinking.
True, some people have it naturally. So it's tempting to say, "you either have it or you don't." Well I say, you have it or you can LEARN IT. Remember the strong rule the weak, but the smart rule the strong (for example humans tame lions, not the reverse). As some people are naturally stronger than others, this is not the end of the story. On the contrary, a person who is naturally strong who never lifts weights can and will lose to the unnatural who makes lifting weights a high priority. There are scientific ways to improve your strength, just as there are scientific ways to improve your mindset.
That's right, this is not chat room discussion. This is a SCIENTIFIC FIELD. A lot of people aren't aware of that. Sport Psychology is a SCIENCE. Many coaches tell athletes to be more confident or to relax. But they never tell them quite how to do it. Probably because they themselves are not aware of how to do so. I'm here to tell you there are techniques and systematic ways to help you get more confident and to relax when you get too nervous. Whether you take advantage of them or not is up to you...
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
To sum up Sport/Performance Psychology in a 3 word sentence- Pull the trigger!
This is analogous to the Nike slogan of "Just Do It." However, I like "pull the trigger" because it commands the most attention and includes a sense of urgency.
When it comes right down to it, you are faced with one major decision in life- Am I going to go all out OR am I going to hold back? (thank you Dr. Rob Gilbert) Are you going to make it happen or are you going to sit back and hope it happens? I'm sure anyone reading this does not need to be convinced that the difference between champions in sports and life are the ones who make things happen. Champions pull the trigger.
There are many things that could inhibit someone from pulling the trigger- fear, past experience, over analysis, etc etc. Many people have a misconception that champions do not go through similar mental discomforts- they are just different kinds of people than we are, they say. Well guess what? Champions are human just like anyone else- never subhuman or superhuman, but simply human. They have emotions, doubts, fears, nervousness, and past failures just like anyone else, but they act ANYWAY.
A warrior isn't about perfection or victory or invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability- that's the only true courage. (Peaceful Warrior)
Champions do not let doubts, fears, and past failures cripple them from taking action. Typically, a champion uses "failure" to motivate themselves to take more action. Champions will pull the trigger.
Many do not realize this, but Champions lose more than normal people lose. Why? Because they make more attempts than ordinary people. The difference is that they continue to take action no matter what their outcomes. Surely they use their failures as feedback and thus look honestly at themselves and make modifications when necessary, but they continue to act, they continue to pull the trigger.
Take a look at a few examples of Champions losing more than normal people:
~Few people would think that the hitter who struck out most times in baseball history would be thought of as a good player, much less a baseball hall of famer, Mr. October REGGIE JACKSON.
~Or that the batter who made the most outs ever would also have the most hits- does PETE ROSE ring a bell?
~ Surely the pitcher with the most all time losses would be sent back to the minors. He wouldn't be the pitcher with the most all time wins would he? Would they name the Most Valuable Pitcher the CY YOUNG award?
~You would think the basketball player who missed over 9,000 shots, lost almost 300 games, missed the game winning shot 26 times, and cut from freshman high school team would be MICHAEL JORDAN.
~Just google the "successes and failures of ABRAHAM LINCOLN" if you want to see real adversity and bouncing back from losses!
NJ wrestling great Andrew Flanagan once said that in high school he wrestled in higher divisions in the off-season and thus had a lot of losses. But that made him tougher and was a big contributor to his success. He said, "if you're not losing, your not wrestling good enough competition." You can apply this to any area in life. The Champion seeks the best competition. He goes for the challenge, to test himself. We often tend to compete at the level of our competition. So to raise your level, raise your competition. How many people could have been so much better if they would have chosen to join the pack of lions instead of assuming the lead among wolves. Yeah it may feel good, but which will make you better? Ask yourself that honestly. Is your goal to look good in front of people and feel good? Or is it to get as good as you can (which of course will eventually lead to recognition and good self feelings)?
I love to hear the reasoning when I hear great performers call BS on Sport/Performance Psychology. They say "that stuff" is garbage. I don't think about psychology or anything for that matter. I just do it.
When I hear this I always laugh to myself because theirin lies the master of Performance Psychology. If I had to make a brief list of what Performance Psychology in a nutshell it would be (1)Help person find what they want (2)Come up with a plan of how to achieve it (3)Get person to take action (3)Get person to step out of their own way (get their mind and body to work together). That's it!
The Champions who call a bluff on Performance Psychology do naturally exactly as they are supposed to (they just do not realize it) - they know what they want, they act, they don't get in their own way by over thinking or negative thinking.
True, some people have it naturally. So it's tempting to say, "you either have it or you don't." Well I say, you have it or you can LEARN IT. Remember the strong rule the weak, but the smart rule the strong (for example humans tame lions, not the reverse). As some people are naturally stronger than others, this is not the end of the story. On the contrary, a person who is naturally strong who never lifts weights can and will lose to the unnatural who makes lifting weights a high priority. There are scientific ways to improve your strength, just as there are scientific ways to improve your mindset.
That's right, this is not chat room discussion. This is a SCIENTIFIC FIELD. A lot of people aren't aware of that. Sport Psychology is a SCIENCE. Many coaches tell athletes to be more confident or to relax. But they never tell them quite how to do it. Probably because they themselves are not aware of how to do so. I'm here to tell you there are techniques and systematic ways to help you get more confident and to relax when you get too nervous. Whether you take advantage of them or not is up to you...
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Monday, January 31, 2011
Mindset Monday 1/31/11- Think Big
There is no factor more crucial to your success than your self-image. –David DeNotaris
Only a person with a big self-image can achieve big dreams. Donald Trump says, “if you are going to think anyway, you might as well think big…real big.”
In many of his books, Trump speaks about a story of himself and former president Jimmy Carter. Carter gave Trump a phone call asking him for a multi-million dollar donation to his new library. Trump was surprised by this request because he was always very vocal about his disagreements with many of the former president’s policies. Trump declined Carter’s offer, but withdrew a valuable lesson from the situation. He said that this experience made him realize why Carter was a US president: he had the ability to think really big.
One of the greatest influences on my wrestling career was Darren Schulman, a 2 time Division 1 All-American, NJ state champion. I was fortunate to have Darren as one of my coaches and mentors when I was in college. Darren asked me, while I was a young freshman, what my goals in college were. I told him I wanted to be an All-American when I was a senior. Coach Schulman, who is a no nonsense guy, told me in no uncertain terms that my goal was not high enough. He said that my goal should be to win the nationals THAT YEAR. I was a little surprised by his idea, but it didn’t take me long to realize that THIS IS THE REASON HE WAS SO SUCCESSFUL. He thinks big. He still thinks big. Whenever I think my goals are high, I have a talk with him and I quickly realize that I should raise the bar even higher.
Darren Schulman was and is a great wrestler and coach. He is the owner and head coach of SugarFoot School of Wrestling. I recommend you check out his website at:
http://www.sugarfootwrestling.com/
A person who does not believe they will succeed decreases their chances of success significantly. –Gene Zannetti
As a senior in college at the University of Pennsylvania, I conducted a sociological experiment with my good friend Zach Bretz. We asked students, “Where do you see yourself on the socio-economic scale in the next 10 years?” We gave the categories Below Average, Average, Slightly Above Average, Well Above Average, and Living the American Dream. Much to our surprise, most people projected themselves at only Slightly Above Average. These were some of the best and brightest in an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL! How could they only see themselves at slightly above average? Zach and I saw ourselves Living the American Dream, so should you!
I submit to you, that if you choose to be a State Champ, National Champ, or Living the American Dream, you will have a better chance of achieving it than your small minded peers. Have you ever heard a post game interview where the champion said, “I never thought I could win.” I haven’t, and I know there is a lesson to take from that.
Think big. Go For the gold. If people aren’t laughing at your goals, they probably aren’t high enough.
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Only a person with a big self-image can achieve big dreams. Donald Trump says, “if you are going to think anyway, you might as well think big…real big.”
In many of his books, Trump speaks about a story of himself and former president Jimmy Carter. Carter gave Trump a phone call asking him for a multi-million dollar donation to his new library. Trump was surprised by this request because he was always very vocal about his disagreements with many of the former president’s policies. Trump declined Carter’s offer, but withdrew a valuable lesson from the situation. He said that this experience made him realize why Carter was a US president: he had the ability to think really big.
One of the greatest influences on my wrestling career was Darren Schulman, a 2 time Division 1 All-American, NJ state champion. I was fortunate to have Darren as one of my coaches and mentors when I was in college. Darren asked me, while I was a young freshman, what my goals in college were. I told him I wanted to be an All-American when I was a senior. Coach Schulman, who is a no nonsense guy, told me in no uncertain terms that my goal was not high enough. He said that my goal should be to win the nationals THAT YEAR. I was a little surprised by his idea, but it didn’t take me long to realize that THIS IS THE REASON HE WAS SO SUCCESSFUL. He thinks big. He still thinks big. Whenever I think my goals are high, I have a talk with him and I quickly realize that I should raise the bar even higher.
Darren Schulman was and is a great wrestler and coach. He is the owner and head coach of SugarFoot School of Wrestling. I recommend you check out his website at:
http://www.sugarfootwrestling.com/
A person who does not believe they will succeed decreases their chances of success significantly. –Gene Zannetti
As a senior in college at the University of Pennsylvania, I conducted a sociological experiment with my good friend Zach Bretz. We asked students, “Where do you see yourself on the socio-economic scale in the next 10 years?” We gave the categories Below Average, Average, Slightly Above Average, Well Above Average, and Living the American Dream. Much to our surprise, most people projected themselves at only Slightly Above Average. These were some of the best and brightest in an IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL! How could they only see themselves at slightly above average? Zach and I saw ourselves Living the American Dream, so should you!
I submit to you, that if you choose to be a State Champ, National Champ, or Living the American Dream, you will have a better chance of achieving it than your small minded peers. Have you ever heard a post game interview where the champion said, “I never thought I could win.” I haven’t, and I know there is a lesson to take from that.
Think big. Go For the gold. If people aren’t laughing at your goals, they probably aren’t high enough.
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 24, 2011
Mindset Monday 1/24/11- Watch FLOW and 4 easy steps to attain it
For the past three weeks we have been discussing the Flow state in sport and performance. As we have said:
Flow is an experience (not exclusive to sports) where a person is immersed in an activity and has their mind focused on the present moment while losing consciousness of ego, self-evaluations, and the audience and audience evaluations. Things seem to fall into place as the unconscious takes over and a self-transcendence is reached.
This week we will present videos of 2 athletes in Flow and give 4 of the most important tips on ways for YOU to CREATE this mindset in YOURSELF, absolutely positively guaranteed.
Flow caught on tape!
FLOW 1
1992 NBA Finals Game 1. Michael Jordan scored a finals record of 35 points in the 1st half. This included six 3-pointers, another record. Watch Jordan's face throughout the video. He does not get excited, he simply keeps doing his thing. Only after his 6th 3-pointer do we see him finally show emotion and reflection of the situation- he shrugs his shoulders, as if to say I don't know how this is happening.
This is Flow:
Michael Jordan-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86KRYhXyPBo&feature=related
FLOW 2
Autistic student, Jason McElwain was the team manager for his high school basketball team. The last game of the season, his coached allowed his to dress. With two minutes left in the game, the coach gave Jason the signal to go in. After 2 missed shots, Jason McElwain does something extraordinary. He attained Flow. He made the next 6 shots in a row. Watch this clip and see what I'm talking about. He makes 3 in a row and its very exciting. And then it starts to get freaky, as he makes 3 more. It's a little bit scary to watch someone in this Flow state because for a little while, potential is reached and self-transcendence is achieved. Limits seem to disappear. Anything becomes possible.
Jason McElwain- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6cOp6EDFlI&feature=related
Jason illustrates how Flow is not exclusive to anyone, or any group of people.
This video makes me think of a quote I heard a long time ago by Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
While it may not be possible to will a Flow state, it is my firm belief that you can facilitate it, and thus make it more likely to happen.
Steps to facilitate Flow-
1* Practice Trusting your abilities.
[Know there is a difference between Training and Trusting. Training is analysis of behavior and technical awareness. Trusting is the act of Letting Go and allowing your instincts to take over. Both are necessary to become successful. Remember the timeless wisdom, you need to practice the way you want to play. This means if in a game you want to be in a Trusting mode, you must spend time in practice actually practicing Trusting. Dr. Bob Rotell recommends if you are a golfer you practice 70% of your shots in a Trusting Mindset. You can apply that theory to any sport or trade.]
2* Practice Letting Go of Your ego and Value Judgments (good vs. bad, right vs wrong) in Sports...and in Life. Just see things as they are. [Note- This does NOT apply to your morals.]
3* Practice staying in the Present Moment and having an alert yet clear mind. [Watch the movie Peaceful Warrior to get a better sense of this.]
4* Learn about meditation and practice it on your own on a regular basis.
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Flow is an experience (not exclusive to sports) where a person is immersed in an activity and has their mind focused on the present moment while losing consciousness of ego, self-evaluations, and the audience and audience evaluations. Things seem to fall into place as the unconscious takes over and a self-transcendence is reached.
This week we will present videos of 2 athletes in Flow and give 4 of the most important tips on ways for YOU to CREATE this mindset in YOURSELF, absolutely positively guaranteed.
Flow caught on tape!
FLOW 1
1992 NBA Finals Game 1. Michael Jordan scored a finals record of 35 points in the 1st half. This included six 3-pointers, another record. Watch Jordan's face throughout the video. He does not get excited, he simply keeps doing his thing. Only after his 6th 3-pointer do we see him finally show emotion and reflection of the situation- he shrugs his shoulders, as if to say I don't know how this is happening.
This is Flow:
Michael Jordan-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86KRYhXyPBo&feature=related
FLOW 2
Autistic student, Jason McElwain was the team manager for his high school basketball team. The last game of the season, his coached allowed his to dress. With two minutes left in the game, the coach gave Jason the signal to go in. After 2 missed shots, Jason McElwain does something extraordinary. He attained Flow. He made the next 6 shots in a row. Watch this clip and see what I'm talking about. He makes 3 in a row and its very exciting. And then it starts to get freaky, as he makes 3 more. It's a little bit scary to watch someone in this Flow state because for a little while, potential is reached and self-transcendence is achieved. Limits seem to disappear. Anything becomes possible.
Jason McElwain- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6cOp6EDFlI&feature=related
Jason illustrates how Flow is not exclusive to anyone, or any group of people.
This video makes me think of a quote I heard a long time ago by Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
While it may not be possible to will a Flow state, it is my firm belief that you can facilitate it, and thus make it more likely to happen.
Steps to facilitate Flow-
1* Practice Trusting your abilities.
[Know there is a difference between Training and Trusting. Training is analysis of behavior and technical awareness. Trusting is the act of Letting Go and allowing your instincts to take over. Both are necessary to become successful. Remember the timeless wisdom, you need to practice the way you want to play. This means if in a game you want to be in a Trusting mode, you must spend time in practice actually practicing Trusting. Dr. Bob Rotell recommends if you are a golfer you practice 70% of your shots in a Trusting Mindset. You can apply that theory to any sport or trade.]
2* Practice Letting Go of Your ego and Value Judgments (good vs. bad, right vs wrong) in Sports...and in Life. Just see things as they are. [Note- This does NOT apply to your morals.]
3* Practice staying in the Present Moment and having an alert yet clear mind. [Watch the movie Peaceful Warrior to get a better sense of this.]
4* Learn about meditation and practice it on your own on a regular basis.
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mindset Monday 1/17/11- FLOW while you compete Pt.2
Continued from last week…
Dr. David Lieberman describes this IDEAL STATE as he calls it:
"Your ideal state of mind is to have no ego and this is achieved by focusing solely on your objective. This will allow you to be unconcerned with how you are coming across and help you avoid second-guessing yourself. If you are absorbed with your objective, the "I" or the ego disappears and you can pursue your goal relentlessly. Focus only on the outcome, not on yourself."
Surely when Dr. Lieberman speaks of focusing on your objective, he means focusing on executing your mission, not on how to do it, and certainly not on winning. When you watch McElwain and Jordan below, they are achieving Flow by thinking about making baskets, not on winning the game. The winning is a byproduct of making baskets.
Letting Go and Trusting your instincts is another important part of attaining Flow. A common complaint among athletes is that they perform better in practice than in a match or a game. I believe that this phenomena of a "practice room wrestler" is due to the fact that in practice it is easier to LET GO. In practice, these athletes attain, if not, come closer to attaining Flow. They may experience tunnel vision to an optimal extent, not to the extreme. Fluidity and creativity is maintained as one is loose and relaxed with their muscles. Being too in the Zone would create extreme tunnel vision, and overall narrowing of the vision. This is likely what happens when a "practice room wrestler" competes, due to over arousal.
I do not know if there are different levels of Flow and if exists along a continuum, but I would have to believe this is at least somewhat the case. Either way, it seems the more into Flow one becomes, the better.
So if in practice an athlete can come closer to Flow, they will probably perform better (better not in terms of wins or losses, but rather in terms of competing to their potential). If its easier to Let Go in practice, then it logically follows that the athlete will be more into Flow and thus perform better.
A more technical name for Flow is what Sport Psychologists call Ideal Peak Performance State (IPPS). They say there are 7 characteristics of IPPS.
(1) Total Concentration (focused on the Here and Now. Living in the present moment).
(2) Clear Goals (the clear objective we spoke of earlier)
(3) Lack of Self-Awareness (loss of the ego and audience and audience evaluations).
(4) Unambiguous Feedback (Clearly seeing things as they are. Also includes no value judgements of good or bad associated with actions. Not thinking, yet not dreaming, ready for whatever may come).
(5) Sense of Control (In a sense that the person is competent enough to perform the task, the task must be a challenge, neither over challenging or under utilizing the person's present skills) It is a little bit of a stretch of the persons current skill level, hence it is within their control, and the person is aware of this
(6) Autotelic (Self-Goals) Experience (Intrinsic Motivation, the process becomes its own reward)
(7) Transformation of Time (Which some report, make time seem to slow down during the task, but paradoxically seems fast once the task is over).
How Does it feel to be in Flow? (basically corresponds with the 7 characteristics of Flow):
1. Completely involved in the experience. Focus and concentration.
2. Sense of ecstasy. Greater than normal.
3. Inner clarity. Knowing what needs to be done and how to do it.
4. Sense of Control (we spoke of just above).
5. Sense of Serenity (loss of ego and evaluations)
6. Timelessness (Happens in a flash, things fly by).
7. Intrinsic Motivation (we spoke of before).
Warch FLOW in action next week: Jason McElwain and Michael Jordan
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Dr. David Lieberman describes this IDEAL STATE as he calls it:
"Your ideal state of mind is to have no ego and this is achieved by focusing solely on your objective. This will allow you to be unconcerned with how you are coming across and help you avoid second-guessing yourself. If you are absorbed with your objective, the "I" or the ego disappears and you can pursue your goal relentlessly. Focus only on the outcome, not on yourself."
Surely when Dr. Lieberman speaks of focusing on your objective, he means focusing on executing your mission, not on how to do it, and certainly not on winning. When you watch McElwain and Jordan below, they are achieving Flow by thinking about making baskets, not on winning the game. The winning is a byproduct of making baskets.
Letting Go and Trusting your instincts is another important part of attaining Flow. A common complaint among athletes is that they perform better in practice than in a match or a game. I believe that this phenomena of a "practice room wrestler" is due to the fact that in practice it is easier to LET GO. In practice, these athletes attain, if not, come closer to attaining Flow. They may experience tunnel vision to an optimal extent, not to the extreme. Fluidity and creativity is maintained as one is loose and relaxed with their muscles. Being too in the Zone would create extreme tunnel vision, and overall narrowing of the vision. This is likely what happens when a "practice room wrestler" competes, due to over arousal.
I do not know if there are different levels of Flow and if exists along a continuum, but I would have to believe this is at least somewhat the case. Either way, it seems the more into Flow one becomes, the better.
So if in practice an athlete can come closer to Flow, they will probably perform better (better not in terms of wins or losses, but rather in terms of competing to their potential). If its easier to Let Go in practice, then it logically follows that the athlete will be more into Flow and thus perform better.
A more technical name for Flow is what Sport Psychologists call Ideal Peak Performance State (IPPS). They say there are 7 characteristics of IPPS.
(1) Total Concentration (focused on the Here and Now. Living in the present moment).
(2) Clear Goals (the clear objective we spoke of earlier)
(3) Lack of Self-Awareness (loss of the ego and audience and audience evaluations).
(4) Unambiguous Feedback (Clearly seeing things as they are. Also includes no value judgements of good or bad associated with actions. Not thinking, yet not dreaming, ready for whatever may come).
(5) Sense of Control (In a sense that the person is competent enough to perform the task, the task must be a challenge, neither over challenging or under utilizing the person's present skills) It is a little bit of a stretch of the persons current skill level, hence it is within their control, and the person is aware of this
(6) Autotelic (Self-Goals) Experience (Intrinsic Motivation, the process becomes its own reward)
(7) Transformation of Time (Which some report, make time seem to slow down during the task, but paradoxically seems fast once the task is over).
How Does it feel to be in Flow? (basically corresponds with the 7 characteristics of Flow):
1. Completely involved in the experience. Focus and concentration.
2. Sense of ecstasy. Greater than normal.
3. Inner clarity. Knowing what needs to be done and how to do it.
4. Sense of Control (we spoke of just above).
5. Sense of Serenity (loss of ego and evaluations)
6. Timelessness (Happens in a flash, things fly by).
7. Intrinsic Motivation (we spoke of before).
Warch FLOW in action next week: Jason McElwain and Michael Jordan
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 10, 2011
Mindset Monday 1/10/11- FLOW everytime you Perform
Some athletes call it “the Zone” others call it “Flow,” scholars call it “the Ideal Peak Performance State (IPPS).” The feeling that you cannot miss, where time and accuracy seem to be moving and acting at your command. All good athletes and performers know this feeling. When you compete, the idea is to be in this state as often as possible. My next few Mindset Mondays will explore the concept of Flow in greater depth and how to facilitate its occurrence. I do not think Flow is something you can force to happen, as ‘Trying’ seems counterproductive as you shall soon see.
Flow is an experience (not exclusive to sports) where a person is immersed in an activity and has their mind focused on the present moment while losing consciousness of ego, self-evaluations, and the audience and audience evaluations. Things seem to fall into place as the unconscious takes over and a self-transcendence is reached.
Many athletes call this experience being "In the Zone." They use the words in the Zone and Flow interchangeably. I do not believe that the Zone and Flow are one and the same. I can differentiate between the two.
I know I have been in the Zone every wrestling match in which I ever competed. But, it was only in rare occasions where I felt Flow. I believe the Zone may be a prerequisite for Flow. But, being in the Zone will not inevitably lead to Flow. There may be several steps necessary to achieving Flow.
I will differentiate between the two now. While in the Zone, one feels as though they are In the Moment. There is a Buddhist word for being in the Here and Now- Satori. I loved to compete because when I was on the mat, I was not thinking about my school work, girl problems, etc. I became focused on the present moment.
To me, being in the Present Moment, here and now, represents the Zone. I'm sure athletes share this common experience with me. This tunnel vision results from a moderate amount of arousal or anxiety. It can be harmful the tunnel vision becomes extreme. This will close your mind to creativity and fluidity, both necessary components of Flow. But in the Zone you can still be self-conscious and aware of other people's evaluations and expectations.
Flow is the Zone, plus the relative absence of self & others consciousness. You and the experience become one and the same. In a sense, you lose yourself. This principle is by no means new. Many cultures all over the world have known about this concept for thousands of years, not the least of which being the Eastern cultures and the principle of Zen.
As stated above, a major prerequisite of Flow is the loss of one's ego. Listen to how Dr. David Lieberman describes this IDEAL STATE as he calls it:
"Your ideal state of mind is to have no ego and this is achieved by focusing solely on your objective. This will allow you to be unconcerned with how you are coming across and help you avoid second-guessing yourself. If you are absorbed with your objective, the "I" or the ego disappears and you can pursue your goal relentlessly. Focus only on the outcome, not on yourself."
To be continued…
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Flow is an experience (not exclusive to sports) where a person is immersed in an activity and has their mind focused on the present moment while losing consciousness of ego, self-evaluations, and the audience and audience evaluations. Things seem to fall into place as the unconscious takes over and a self-transcendence is reached.
Many athletes call this experience being "In the Zone." They use the words in the Zone and Flow interchangeably. I do not believe that the Zone and Flow are one and the same. I can differentiate between the two.
I know I have been in the Zone every wrestling match in which I ever competed. But, it was only in rare occasions where I felt Flow. I believe the Zone may be a prerequisite for Flow. But, being in the Zone will not inevitably lead to Flow. There may be several steps necessary to achieving Flow.
I will differentiate between the two now. While in the Zone, one feels as though they are In the Moment. There is a Buddhist word for being in the Here and Now- Satori. I loved to compete because when I was on the mat, I was not thinking about my school work, girl problems, etc. I became focused on the present moment.
To me, being in the Present Moment, here and now, represents the Zone. I'm sure athletes share this common experience with me. This tunnel vision results from a moderate amount of arousal or anxiety. It can be harmful the tunnel vision becomes extreme. This will close your mind to creativity and fluidity, both necessary components of Flow. But in the Zone you can still be self-conscious and aware of other people's evaluations and expectations.
Flow is the Zone, plus the relative absence of self & others consciousness. You and the experience become one and the same. In a sense, you lose yourself. This principle is by no means new. Many cultures all over the world have known about this concept for thousands of years, not the least of which being the Eastern cultures and the principle of Zen.
As stated above, a major prerequisite of Flow is the loss of one's ego. Listen to how Dr. David Lieberman describes this IDEAL STATE as he calls it:
"Your ideal state of mind is to have no ego and this is achieved by focusing solely on your objective. This will allow you to be unconcerned with how you are coming across and help you avoid second-guessing yourself. If you are absorbed with your objective, the "I" or the ego disappears and you can pursue your goal relentlessly. Focus only on the outcome, not on yourself."
To be continued…
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 3, 2011
Mindset Monday 1/3/11- Resolve This for the New Year
Resolve This for the New Year-
Some of the greatest Peak Performance advice I ever heard was from the great Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.
On the topic of Resilience he said:
“Life is not always as good as it seems, and its not always as bad as it seems, but somewhere between there reality falls.”
Resolve to Bounce back from mistakes and losses. Never Stay Down!
We cannot allow an opponent or circumstance to defeat us twice in a row.
Sometimes in life we will lose, but we should not allow that loss to affect our minds to the point that they hurt us again in the future. Think of an athlete or loses to a team that they “shouldn’t.” Now, I do not like even thinking in terms of “shoulds’ and expectations, but that’s a topic for another time. But after the team or athlete loses, they sometimes get down on themselves and wallow in self pity, leading to another loss to yet another inferior team. In essence, they let the first opponent beat them twice. We cannot allow this to happen.
We will be successful because we never had problems or obstacles, but because we solve them. And because there is no price we are not willing to pay to make sure we succeed.
“Remember the good Lord put eyes in the front of your head instead of the back so you can see where you are going, not where you’ve been.”
Imagine driving your car for any distance while starring through the rear view mirror. There is a reason why the windshield is 10x bigger than the rear-view mirror. Yes it is good to look back at the past from time to time. But we should spend the majority of our time focusing on the present and future.
Whatever life throws at you, you must bounce back.
In Rocky Balboa Stallone says, “it’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take.”
It’s your choice to stay down or to get up and fight another round. Put your gloves back on and get back in the ring!
Resolve to Never Stay Down!
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
Some of the greatest Peak Performance advice I ever heard was from the great Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.
On the topic of Resilience he said:
“Life is not always as good as it seems, and its not always as bad as it seems, but somewhere between there reality falls.”
Resolve to Bounce back from mistakes and losses. Never Stay Down!
We cannot allow an opponent or circumstance to defeat us twice in a row.
Sometimes in life we will lose, but we should not allow that loss to affect our minds to the point that they hurt us again in the future. Think of an athlete or loses to a team that they “shouldn’t.” Now, I do not like even thinking in terms of “shoulds’ and expectations, but that’s a topic for another time. But after the team or athlete loses, they sometimes get down on themselves and wallow in self pity, leading to another loss to yet another inferior team. In essence, they let the first opponent beat them twice. We cannot allow this to happen.
We will be successful because we never had problems or obstacles, but because we solve them. And because there is no price we are not willing to pay to make sure we succeed.
“Remember the good Lord put eyes in the front of your head instead of the back so you can see where you are going, not where you’ve been.”
Imagine driving your car for any distance while starring through the rear view mirror. There is a reason why the windshield is 10x bigger than the rear-view mirror. Yes it is good to look back at the past from time to time. But we should spend the majority of our time focusing on the present and future.
Whatever life throws at you, you must bounce back.
In Rocky Balboa Stallone says, “it’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take.”
It’s your choice to stay down or to get up and fight another round. Put your gloves back on and get back in the ring!
Resolve to Never Stay Down!
Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/
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