Check Yourself before you Wreck Yourself!

Awareness is the first step to gaining control of any pressure situation during competition. Without awareness of self, you then limit the ability to make positive adjustments in your thinking to redirect your focus. You cant control your performance until you are in control of yourself. In the book, Mind Gym, the author expresses the importance of knowing your #'s ..he uses the "Inverted U" to explain the performance curve. Take a "U", turn in upside down and draw a horizonatal line on the left side, then a vertical line across the bottom and number both lines incrementaly zero to ten. The horizontal line represents stress/anxiety and the vertical line represents performance and productivity. As the athlete becomes stimulated....both lines increase. When the athlete is at his/her optimal performance state they have reached the apex of the inverted "U".

So now we need to find your numbers. Start with reflecting on performances you have done well in...what were those numbers? Then, think about competitions or events that didn't go well...were your numbers too high or to low? Did you need a kick in the ass, or were you over activated and lost focus?
Developing an awareness of how your mind and body works best for YOU is a process that only one can master with practice and reflection. Next Level mental toughness is built by feeling confident in knowing you have ability to control your emotions and thoughts in any situation. Having control during a competition is a excellent skill to have to optimize your performance consistancy. Know your numbers and practice to get in that zone every chance you get...so you can do it when it counts!