In my early days of coaching, my interest in the body & what makes it perform well centered around the obvious: muscles, bones, heart & lungs. While there’s no doubting the importance of our cardiovascular & musculature systems, I now believe that there is one part of us that is by far The Most Important to our success and/or failure – our brain. Our brain is the origin of our thoughts & these thoughts form the foundation of our motivations, our fears, our anxieties, our priorities…and therefore our outcomes. Renee Descartes was certainly on to something when he uttered his now-famous phrase, “Cogito, ergo sum” commonly translated as “I think, therefore I am”. Admittedly, my interpretation of this phrase differs from Descartes’ original meaning which was an attempt to prove his own existence. But I do feel that this phrase succinctly bridges the gap between what we think & what we do. To put it a different way…if you want a successful outcome, train your brain! I recently put this concept to the test. Take a read for my experience with a “brain training” program.
Your Thoughts Make or Break Performance
Years ago, I read a fabulous book called The Brave Athlete which dealt head-on (pun totally intended!) with how our thoughts help or hurt our performance. The key message is this: What we say to ourselves (our inner dialogue) is our most important performance tool. Essentially your brain will work to fulfill whatever your thoughts dwell on. The tricky part is that it’s easier to focus on negatives rather than positives. If left to its own devices, your brain will repeatedly & almost unconsciously fixate on your fears & self-defined inadequacies…which, my friends, is a recipe for disaster. If you THINK you are a weak swimmer/runner/biker (fill in the blank), you will BE a weak swimmer/biker/runner/etc. But the cool thing is that the opposite is also true! We just have to shift our thoughts from what we DON’T want to what we DO want. Easier said than done….
My Test of Brain/Body Connection
I recently put this brain/body connection to a test. I play piano & my teacher schedules regular recitals. Over the last 10yrs I’ve been plagued with worsening performance anxiety. I’ve tried various methods to improve this, but nothing has really helped. In desperation I finally decided to work with a professional – Renee Yomtob of Athletic Mental Performance. (If you’re interested in what she does, take a listen to our “Hour of Power” Chat.) To put it simply – in 2 wks she helped me change my thoughts. In combination with MER work, I was given the following homework:
Every Day…
- Write down 3 things I’m grateful for.
- Write down 5 things I’ve done well.
- Play the piano from a place of pure joy (as opposed to only technical practice).
- When talking about the upcoming recital, talk in terms of how excited I am, how much I’m looking forward to sharing my pieces, how much fun it will be.
- When thinking about the upcoming recital, remember that the physical effects of being nervous (elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, adrenaline surges) are EXACTLY the same as being excited. I can choose to define those physical effects as either nervous (negative) or excited (positive). Again, the choice is mine!
A “Brain Training” Program
Notice how each of these homework tasks focuses on positives. Was it easy? Heck, no…not at all (#2 was especially difficult). Also notice that doing these things every day is a “training program”…just like one would use to train a physical body. In essence Renee gave me a way to train my brain to consciously choose positive rather than negative thoughts. The upshot is that the training program worked wonders! I had one of the best recitals of my life. What’s more…several audience members (who have seen me at many other recitals) came up afterwards & commented on how my performance was much more relaxed, confident & in control. Bonus, bonus, BONUS!!
The simplicity of the brain-performance connection is beautiful. You just have to train it just like anything else. Were there times when I felt like I was fooling myself, like I was faking it? Absolutely. But in my opinion if it works…who cares how it works!! I only wish I would have started on this path sooner. So, my fellow athletes, why wait!??!! If you’d like to change your brain, get started immediately on your own “brain training” program.
Happy Training,
Coach Michelle
If you’d like to help shifting your thought patterns, feel free to email Renee or visit her website.
For more reading on the connection between mental & physical performance, check out: