I read an excellent book recently by Mathew Syed called "Bounce". I can recommend it to anyone who is interested in gaining renewed focus, clarity of thought and peak performance. While Mathew Syed's book focuses mainly on sporting excellence, his theories and observations can be applied to most areas of human endeavour and life.
One example in the book kept haunting me though and so I felt compelled to write a few words to expand on my own thoughts on the qualities of true champions and how the same principles might help those dealing with the aftermath of the recent floods in South East Queensland.
The section I am referring to can be found on page 160 when Mathew Syed quotes top French Golfer Jean Van de Velde who says that "Tiger Woods is the most remarkable sportsman he has seen in terms of self belief." Van de Velde goes on to say that "He" (i.e. Woods) "has the ability to fully commit to the shot. On ten foot puts he believes that he will nail them. On forty-foot puts, he knows deep down, he is unlikely to hole them, but he is able to focus his entire mind on the possibility of success rather than the probability of failure. And at the moment he hits the put, his conviction is total. It is a remarkable skill".
There is no doubt in my mind regards the power of that special ability and champions like Tiger Woods, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Mathew Syed demostrated that ability to the letter. For the most part I agree with that philosophy in its commitment to complete focus. In my opinion though, that level of focus is something that goes beyond the goal, or the end result and it is that something which separates true champions from the rest of the field.
In my opinion, to focus soley on the desired result leaves room for failure and self doubt. If the end result is the only point of focus then mental picture and pressure of the task ahead may seem so great and much more complex that the individual aspects of the journey. Depending on the importance of the outcome one's mind might be distracted by questions of doubt and an overwhealming potential for risk and disappointment. If the result is the sole objective, then there is also a much bigger and more involved picture to deal with. This added pressure may in turn force small errors in judgement and may even deprive the person from arriving at the destination or outcome as intended.
Where I believe champions excell is not as much in their ability to give their undivided attention on the result, but rather in their ability to block the empahsis of the result from their mind and to give their total subconscious attention and ability to the very moment they are in, as it occures, without distraction and then onwards through to the logical conclusion. To be in the moment with that kind of clarity, allows a lot more of the subconscious ability to do what is does best, which is to perform in the zone where anything is possible.
As for the final outcome, the champion is by default usually more relaxed and when they invariably cross the line, the outcome is less about the magnitude of the task, but rather just another part of the journey. Of course the outcome is important, but the time to reflect, stress and or to savour the moment comes afterwards. In other words, winning more frequently becomes a by product, or a yardstick along the champions path not the objective.
The potential for failure is always going to be a fact of life, especially in competition. The greatest champions are clear on this reality. When they 'fail', it is less about the emotional or the negative for them and so they recover quickly. I believe it is more about the level of clarity in each moment that guides champions to achieve such high standards of performance.
When champions make their mistakes, which they do, they have already created the mind space and clarity of thought to quickly recognise those situations as they unfold. In doing this they can make the required small corrections as they go and so they make their efforts look easy. Almost by default therefore, they win more often. Are they any better than you or I?... I'd like to think that they have simply discovered a better way of asking the same question, when it matters most.
In the same way I would encourage those affected by the recent floods to be like true champions and to develop the clarity of thought of being in the moment of the rebuild process and to treat each effort as a single completed moment rather than falter because of the enormity of the task ahead. What has happened is done and now is the moment in which to act.
It is true that this is a time of great loss and heart felt pain. There is simply no getting away from that fact. Now is the time to experience that clarity so that great things can happen and to allow life and living for those most affected to go on.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
God Bless.
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