Author: Condor Performance

Understanding the Fear of Mistakes and Errors 

Firstly, it’s essential to understand why we often fear making mistakes or errors. This is because mistakes and errors are often stigmatised and associated with failure, and we know that our thoughts and feelings are not always the truth.

In many cultures, we are taught to aim for perfection, which can lead to anxiety around failure. Although there is nothing wrong with striving to be our best, this creates a sense of pressure that can hinder decision-making and prevent us from taking risks. The good news is that we often worry about things we care about. By recognising the purpose of mistakes and the importance of reframing errors, we can focus on our processes or actions that are within our control.

The Benefits of Reframing Mistakes and Errors 

Mistakes and errors can often give us valuable information about the numerous ways to improve and learn. When we take the time to reflect on our performance, we can gain insights that inform our future decisions.

This process of reflection helps us develop resilience and adaptability. Mistakes and errors can also sharpen our critical thinking and improve our problem-solving skills. When we embrace that they are a normal part of the learning experience, we are more likely to take on opportunities for growth without fearing failure.

“Setbacks are not reflections of our abilities but stepping stones toward improvement.”

Strategies for Reframing Mistakes and Errors

Have you ever wondered why some performances might feel slightly less or more pressured after a mistake or error? The weight we give to them is very significant. Reflecting on the last time you ‘messed up’, did you notice what happened to your performance afterwards?

For some athletes and performers, it allows them to relax, as the worst-case scenario we were trying to avoid has already happened. For those who feel more pressure after a mistake or error, there is often an intent to ‘make up’ for that mistake. This is very risky from a mental toughness point of view. More often than not, this will switch the internal focus away from the process to the outcome.

But what if I suggested that how we act after the mistake is far more important? It is common for performers to consider starting at 100% of the quality of their best performance. What ends up happening is that we try our best to maintain this level of performance for the whole duration of the competition or performance.  This can often lead to rushing our processes or creating a sense of pressure due to the unrealistic expectations we place on our performance. 

The Start From Zero Percent Approach

But what if I said the quality of our performance starts at 0%? And we work towards increasing our quality throughout our performance. At the start of all performances, we haven’t achieved anything productive or equal to what we know we are capable of. This means that any error or mistake would not detract from the quality or hard work we have already achieved. But what if I said the quality of our performance starts at 0%? And we work towards increasing our quality throughout our performance.

At the start of all performances, we haven’t achieved anything productive or equal to what we know we are capable of. This means that any error or mistake would not detract from the quality or hard work we have already achieved.

For example, say you are a tennis player, and you miss an easy cross-court winner during the first game of a match. Using the start from Zero Percent Approach, this feels normal. But when you start from A Hundred Percent not so much.

Mistakes vs Unfortunate Occurrences

Sometimes, just changing the label will get the job done. In high-performance sports, the words mistake and error are particularly confronting. Imagine yourself in a one-on-one meeting with your coach on Monday morning, and she opens with, “I want to talk about the mistake she made yesterday yesterday”.

A mistake can be referred to as an error or something we have done with a lack of responsibility or misunderstanding. Imagine you’re a basketball player going for a free throw and miss. This should be considered a mistake if the player closes their eyes and executes that skill incorrectly on purpose. But this almost never happens.

What is far more common in these situations is that the player tries to get the ball in the basket, but it doesn’t quite make it. This is not a mistake; it is an unfortunate occurrence. And sport and other performance areas are full of these.

An unfortunate occurrence refers to an undesirable situation or event that is not through lack of effort. We could consider it like this. Unless you intentionally try to do poorly, then it would be impossible for there to be any mistakes throughout your entire performance. But there will always be a bunch of unfortunate occurrences.

Conclusion

Reframing mistakes is a powerful mindset shift that can lead to personal and professional growth. By viewing errors as opportunities rather than failures, we open ourselves to a world of possibilities. So the next time you become fixated on a mistake, remember this. Was it really a mistake (lacking effort), or was it actually an unfortunate occurrence? And whatever it turns out to be, both are opportunities for improvement!

As always, if you need a hand, give us a shout.

I am guessing that when you think of sport psychology books, you imagine publications by academics that have sold a few thousand copies. The issue is that most of these books are designed to be for practitioners and not the performers. There are books written with athletes and performers in mind, but typically, they are limited in their scope. So we asked our growing team of sport and performance psychologists about what books they suggest to their clients.

Below, in no particular order, are these publications. As you can see many of them are not sport psychology books per se, but together they form a handy toolkit for anyone interested in the mental aspects of human performance. If you think we are missing one (or more), please add the details to the comments section at the very bottle of the list.

The Third Space by Dr Adam Fraser

Brian says…

This 300-page book highlights that we tend to carry our mindset from one task to the next, which impacts our capacity to focus on the ensuing task. This book focuses on The Third Space, the transition between the first activity and the second, to enable us to “show up” for whatever comes next.

Using the example of tennis players and discussing the 3 Rs, Reflect Rest Reset – talks about how very little separates the top tennis players in terms of skill, ability and fitness. However, research has found that what separates the greats from the rest is, regardless of a good shot or bad shot or a good match, bad match, the ability to reflect (and learn) on what just happened, Rest (be it through breathing, mindfulness, etc) and then Reset for the next point, match or game. 

The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doig 

Brian says…

This work uses neuroscience and research to explain that our brain is plastic, malleable and changeable. And the massive benefit to us as humans of it being that way.

We are never too old to learn new tricks. We can build our resilience and develop new skills and ways of looking at the world throughout our lives and for as long as we are alive. 

Breath by James Nestor

Brian says…

If you watch the Olympics or any high-profile sport, you notice that most athletes breathe more purposefully.

There is possibly no more important action to prepare the body and mind for performance than breathing. This book highlights that even minor adjustments to breathing practices can positively impact performance and have a myriad of impacts on overall health and immunity, sleep and general well-being. 

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Darren says …

This fantastic read contains incredible insights into creating long-lasting changes to human habits. James Clear has presented both his personal experiences and scientific research in a way that’s very practical to accomplish.

We often believe that habitual changes must be drastic; however, the book highlights that this does not need to be the case. There is a focus on making tiny and very doable actions on an ongoing basis that, if maintained, can make fabulous improvements to our lives.

The book summarises one of our favourite mantras at Condor Performance: “Trust the process and let the results take care of themselves.”

A Liberated Mind by Dr Steven C. Hayes

Darren says …

Without a doubt, Dr Steven C. Hayes has made a considerable contribution to psychology with his research on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the development of Psychological Flexibility.

Dr Hayes takes you through the six core processes that help build psychological flexibility and is packed with diverse examples of their application. It is well supported by research, but you do not have to be an academic to understand it. It is very digestible to all audiences, and very importantly, it contains practical exercises that you can take away and use immediately. This book supports many life and performance-enhancement strategies. It’s a game-changer.

Madalyn says …

This powerful book is centred around ‘Psychological Flexibility’, a term referring to being open and willing to engage with uncomfortable internal experiences (thoughts, feelings, memories) so that they no longer stop us from committing to the actions that are important to us.

This book contains excellent insight into the evidence-based practice of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a framework the Condor Performance team use to help their sporting and non-sporting clients lean into discomfort and not struggle with it. ACT is based on the premise that our problem-solving mind is hardwired to avoid, suppress and fight off uncomfortable internal experiences. To live a full and meaningful life, we need to have a more ‘flexible’ relationship with our mind where we notice, observe and accept these experiences, reflect on our values and focus on committed action towards our long-term goals. Much of our work at Condor Performance is about our clients’ relationships with internal experiences. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about our work or is looking to improve their performance.

The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying About What People Think of You by Dr Michael Gervais

Harley says …

Fear of judgment and what people think of us (recently defined as “FOPO” – fear of people’s opinions) is a common theme that many of our clients struggle with, and often, FOPO can constrain or limit our capacity to realise our full potential. In The First Rule of Mastery, Michael Gervais outlines exactly what FOPO is, what causes FOPO, and, most importantly, what we can do to overcome FOPO.

This is helpful reading for all performers but especially valuable for those involved in team sports.

The Resilience Project by Hugh van Cuylenburg

Harley says …

Based on his experience teaching in India, The Resilience Project details a framework for developing skills and behaviours to help us live more fulfilling lives. Gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness are desirable behaviours and traits we can all benefit from incorporating into our daily lives.

They can help us with our mental health, mental aspects of performance, and associated performance outcomes. Being resilient is a crucial attribute of high performers, and The Resilience Project is an excellent introduction to those looking to learn more about it.

Legacy: What The All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life by James Kerr

Harley says …

One of my all-time favourite books and the book I recommend the most to my clients. Based on the esteemed culture of one of the most successful sporting teams in history, Legacy provides outstanding lessons in culture and leadership that can benefit individuals, teams, athletes, coaches, and other leaders. If you want to be a high performer and/or succeed in your chosen endeavour, the insights from this book will benefit you enormously.

Do Hard Things by Steve Magness

Harley says …

It is a terrific book that redefines what toughness is.

Combining a great blend of the latest scientific knowledge about psychology and human performance with real-world experience from athletes and coaches, Do Hard Things is a roadmap for overcoming hardships, facing challenges, and striving to succeed. Informative, practical, and accessible, this book will help you build real toughness.

The Practice of Groundness by Brad Stulberg

Harley says …

This excellent book explores many of the themes I would use regularly with my clients and encourages all high performers to practice.

These key themes include being present, focusing on processes over outcomes, being patient, connecting with your values, and cultivating a sustainable approach to high performance. Combining the latest scientific knowledge with ancient wisdom, The Practice of Groundness will provide you with critical techniques and practical skills to help you on your journey towards success.

Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Harley says …

It is one of the most powerful and influential books I have read. Viktor Frankl’s lessons about his experience in concentration camps in WWII are incredibly insightful. Whether we are chasing big or little wins, all of us will benefit from these observations.

While suffering may be inevitable, we can choose how we respond and find meaning in the suffering that allows us to find and pursue purpose. Ultimately, pursuing what matters to us (i.e., our purpose) is our most important human driver.

A Still Quiet Place For Athletes by Amy Saltzman

Charlotte says …

It is an excellent book for athletes committed to training their minds. So often, it is the internal chatter that prevents athletes from being present in the moment.

This book guides the reader through many psychological skills that encourage them to let go of their internal chatter and focus on the moment. I appreciate the book’s clear descriptions of each skill and opportunities for practice and reflection. This ensures the skills are correctly learnt and can be accessed quicker in heightened emotions.   

The Happiness Trap by Dr Russ Harris

Chris says …

An excellent book for sporting and non-sporting performers, The Happiness Trap provides a user-friendly introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Some of the critical components of ACT that are covered in depth and apply to performance enhancement include:

(1) Mindfulness. Being aware of the present moment without judgment helps us recognise how we respond to situations and redirect ourselves to practical actions. 

(2) Acceptance. Acknowledging unwanted thoughts and emotions helps reduce our natural internal struggle with them.

(3) Commitment. By identifying our values (things that give us a sense of meaning), we can become more purposeful in our behaviours. In other words, deliberately acting aligns with what is important to us. 

Happy reading (no pun intended)! 

Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan

James says …

Written by the mindfulness expert trainer for Google executives. I recommend this book as it’s a great guide on “how to” learn to practise mindfulness for those interested.

Many books and authors will tell you that mindfulness is terrific and benefits life, business, health and performance. But this book gives practical processes on how to start and exercises to try and practice to become more adept at mindfulness. On top of that, it’s written in a simple and conversational style that I find more casual than many books. 

The Coaches by David Becker and Scott Hill

James says …

‘The Coaches’ is a collection of interviews with twelve high-profile sporting coaches across various sports in Australia. It skillfully brings together hundreds of little pieces of advice and wisdom through many years of coaching at the elite level.

If you’re an aspiring athlete or coach, it’s always worth knowing what the top coaches look for in their athletes, what they feel brings success and what they see as pathways to failure through their time at the top.

The Score Takes Care Of Itself by Bill Walsh

Gareth says …

This semi-autobiographical account of Bill Walsh’s work with the San Francisco 49ers is arguably one of the most beneficial when learning why a process focus is far more effective than an outcome orientation.

As the book suggests, Bill and his coaching staff did not do a lot of goal-setting for the outcomes. Instead, they went through every single aspect of the organisation and tried to improve it. In doing this, there was a reduced need to obsess about sporting results. These took care of themselves. And the consequence is that they became one of the most successful teams in the history of the NFL.

Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

Gareth says …

‘Stolen Focus’ is a slightly different book to be included in this select list of sport psychology books. Given the importance of focus in modern-day performance psychology, it would be remiss not to include at least one book that explains why focusing is so hard for so many people nowadays.

This book, by one of my favourite authors, is a must-read for anyone who assumes that time spent stuck to their smartphone is normal and healthy. Yes, that’s right, performance enhancement is sometimes just doing the simple things. Like turning off your phone at meal times!

If you feel like this list of sports psychology books is missing any that you have read and would recommend, please add the details to the comments section below. Ideally, include the title, author, and WHY you would suggest to anyone looking to further their performance psychology knowledge. After more than one individual has mentioned the same publication, we will consider moving it up to the official list above.

Introduction To Visualisation

Visualisation, often used synonymously with mental rehearsal or imagery, is a mental training strategy that is implemented to achieve a range of positive performance outcomes. These outcomes include (but are not limited to) improved concentration, decreased anxiety, heightened self-confidence, and increased motivation. All of which ultimately endeavor to enhance performance in some way.

This technique started to attract widespread attention in the 1980s with its benefits being increasingly recognised amongst sport psychologists, coaches, athletes, as well as those from a non-athletic background. 

Visualisation is better thought of as a process, rather than merely a concept. Embodying the mental practice of applying the senses to stimulate an image of something sums up this process rather well. This recreation can be done by either picturing specific skills or can also involve rehearsing a performance from the beginning to the end.

Examples Of Visualisation

Most competitive skiers make use of visualisation to run through their performance on the piste and acquaint themselves with its various elements such as the presence of slopes or slants in the trail, and the placement of turns. Skiers can also visualise their execution of particular skills such as their turns, jumps, or specific sections they need to control their speed.

On the other hand in team sports such as soccer, visualisation can be implemented to run through various game scenarios and solidify team strategies and tactics. As such this technique is beneficial in reducing the degree of unfamiliarity.

Another strength of this tool is its flexibility in the sense that it does not require any external prompts. It can be executed at any time, at any location, and still produce beneficial outcomes for performance. Can you think of a recent scenario in which this flexibility is especially useful? Clue, cough … cough.

Athletes can also use visualisation during a period of injury or rehabilitation as it allows them to train safely without adversely affecting their condition. In sport psychology, this technique is also used in conjunction with other forms of mental strategies or physical training to enhance positive outcomes. 

The Psychological Science Behind Visualisation 

Recent research has examined the science behind this technique to understand its popularity and effectiveness amongst athletes of all ages and levels. 

Neurons in the motor cortex of the brain that are stimulated when physically executing an action, are also activated when athletes picture this during visualisation. This subconscious process of rehearsing performance fires neural patterns similar to those that are created when the target muscles are physically performing the movements. This becomes crucial in adapting an athlete’s body to key movements specific to their sport, consequently speeding up the learning process and enhancing skill acquisition. 

Referring back to the sport of skiing, a ski coach can encourage the practice of visualisation for their athlete when demonstrating a new skill such as jumping. As touched upon previously, pairing visualisation with the physical rehearsal of the skill enhances the effectiveness of the technique and boosts learning.  

A study at the University of Chicago by Dr. Blaslotto further demonstrates the positive impact of mental rehearsal. He measured the improvement of free throws amongst three groups of randomly selected individuals. This experiment ran over a period of one month where one group spent half an hour daily visualising successful free throws, one group practiced free throws for half an hour a day, and the other group did not practice at all.

It was found that the group who practiced free throws daily improved by 24%, no improvement was observed amongst the group with no practice, and the group who had simply practiced visualization without touching a basketball had improved by 23%. 

The Downside Of Visualisation 

As with any sport or performance area, it may not be possible to accurately recreate the entire experience due to the presence of external influences that are out of our control. 

Whilst the many benefits of visualisation have been established including its ability to enhance motivation, boost confidence, and sharpen concentration, there is a gap that this technique cannot fill. No matter how well, or how much time an athlete invests in rehearsing mentally, it must be recognised that there remains a range of factors in competitive sport that are determined and controlled by factors external to the athletes themselves. Some of the most obvious are the spectators, the opponent’s behaviour as well as environmental conditions. 

With reference to the prior example of a skier, environmental factors such as wind speed, visibility, quality of snow, and temperature are all externally determined. These factors can be influential in defining crucial aspects of the athlete’s performance such as their speed, as well as their ability to manoeuvre and control their movements.

Practice Is Key! 

As with most processes practice makes permanent. Visualisation is easier to execute when a goal has been established. A good way for an athlete to establish purpose is to consider their current training and competition schedule and determine aspects that they feel will be challenging. For example:

• A cricket bowler who is considering how they might go during their first over of a match.
• A golfer who is predicting the challenge of playing the last two holes, whilst protecting a one-shot lead.
• A race car driver who is looking for an edge in tomorrow’s race where the forecast is for wet conditions.

Once this step has been cleared, the individual is ready to practice visualisation. Finding a silent space without distractions, and ensuring the eyes are closed will assist with this experience. Then, they may take a few deep breaths to connect with and be aware of the body at that present moment. This technique is most effective when as many of the fundamental senses are engaged. For any athlete rehearsing for an upcoming game or competition, visualisation may look something like this.

Starting with some deep breaths, they can then begin to immerse themselves in the experience of being present at the site of the competition. They may prompt imagery by asking themselves questions. What sounds are audible? Is there a large audience presence? What does the weather look like? Do I feel a breeze across my face? What smells can be sensed? Do I feel nervous? Do I feel my heart rate increasing?

Mindset To Be Included

Imagining the mindset under which an athlete performs can be useful in making the experience more realistic and can help train the mind and body to reduce any negative emotions or sensations.  

Following this process of engaging as many of the senses as possible, the athlete can begin to feel the motions of the body as they run through their performance. For a basketball player, this may involve running through any pre-game routines, team strategies, and gameplay from beginning to end. They may also focus on visualising their execution of skills such as passing, or a different technique for three-pointers. This mental rehearsal would then be used as a guide for the athlete to perform and physically engage their body in the movements. In the case of basketball players, they can then practice shooting on the court.

Whilst performing these skills, it is beneficial for the athlete to pay attention to the senses again, as well as their body. This includes the way the ball feels against their palms, the stimulation of muscles on their legs and hands as they follow through with the shot, and the movement of the ball in the air. This is then repeated for the duration of the training.

Conclusion

It should be acknowledged that the mind is susceptible to distractions and may wander at times, but it is useful to accept this and be able to reset or restart. Thus, visualisation cannot be mastered in the first go and results will take time to show, however maintaining consistency will support this process and contribute to positive outcomes overall. If you need a hand, give us a shout.

An Introduction To The Psychology For / Of Endurance Sports

There is something incredibly inspiring about watching runners finish a marathon. The mental toughness required to sustain such a performance despite fatigue over long distances and durations is undeniable. It can be the difference in seconds between elite athletes, or the defining factor in finishing your first ultra. In my eyes, it’s one of the most enchanting things about endurance sports and one of the main factors that motivated me to pursue a career in performance psychology.

Whether your goal is to run 100 miles, chase a sub 3-hour marathon, or finish your first Ironman triathlon, you know you’re going to suffer for a long time. You can expect discomfort and fatigue from pushing yourself, regardless of how physically well-prepared you are. In the context of endurance sports, that’s the point. This is what athletes sign up for, especially if they want to be able the sense of achievement that comes from realising their capability. Relative suffering from maximum effort is the same lived experience for both elite and recreational endurance athletes. One of the unique challenges for all athletes in endurance sports is developing the mindset to be able to suffer ‘better’, and for longer. 

Suffer ‘Better’, And For Longer

Extended feelings of physical exertion and associated discomfort are accompanied by a constant stream of helpful and unhelpful thoughts. Some might make us feel strong and capable in our efforts, others tell us to cut corners or simply give up. Becoming aware of the relationship between your thoughts and feelings and actions is the key to being able to get the most from our training processes and push ourselves on race day.

One of the core frameworks we like to borrow from in our approach to thoughts and feelings is called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This framework has recently gained a lot of traction in sport psychology and performance psychology. Unlike many traditional approaches, it is founded upon the idea that our thoughts and feelings do not need to impact our behaviour and therefore do not need to be changed or ‘fixed’. This does not mean that we simply ignore our unhelpful thoughts and discomfort. It’s actually quite the opposite. Observing thoughts for what they are, ‘just thoughts’, can help us to accept them and focus instead on the way we choose to engage with them.

Be Present And Aware

Before we can accept unhelpful thoughts and feelings of discomfort to our performance advantage, we need to become fully aware and familiar with them and the context. It is very difficult to be open to accepting something you are not noticing. Learning to openly observe our thoughts, bodily sensations and surroundings is a great way to stay focussed on the present moment. It also provides a strong foundation for developing effective mental strategies to engage with thoughts and feelings in helpful ways. Here are some strategies for increasing openness to our internal experiences and awareness for external factors in the context and environment.

Checking In

• Practice noticing sensations in different parts of your body as a type of routine. Check in with the pressure you feel under each foot, engagement of specific muscles with each movement, the feeling of breeze on your skin, and your breathing rhythm. It’s important that you simply notice these sensations and do not overlay any interpretation like ‘I must be tired’.

Checking Out

• Work through your senses one at a time to focus on the present environment and how you’re interacting with it. Note things you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste, focussing on smaller things you might normally miss. If you listen to music, this can be a great way to engage with it differently.

By Feel

• Leave your watch at home and experience your own levels of ‘perceived effort’. That is, what you can better observe about your bodily sensations and fatigue when you can not use your pace or heart rate as a cue to expectations like ‘this is an easy pace for me’.

Once Step At A Time

• One of the most confronting things in a long run or ride is the realisation early on of how far you still have to go. A common strategy used by many athletes is breaking the distance up into smaller sections by what you see around you – trees, traffic lights, lamp posts etc. Notice what these are, their characteristics, their physical relationship to you as you travel toward them.

Train of Thought

• Just as you notice your physical sensations, observe any thoughts that pop into your mind as occurrences. Note them for interest’s sake as ‘I’m having a thought that…’. There is no need to label them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Notice what you are physically experiencing when they occurred, and when they come and go.

Obviously these experiences will be highly personalised for every athlete. The most important part is not the content, but creating openness and awareness to the experience for exactly what it is in the present moment. Practicing mindfulness in this way can be challenging at first, and these types of strategies are best served alongside clarity for why you’re out on that long run in the first place.

Embrace Your ‘Why’

Consider this apparently paradoxical scenario. Ask anyone who identifies as an elite or recreational runner, if they enjoy running. Almost all will say something like ‘Absolutely, I love running!’. They might even try to recruit you if you’re not already a runner. Follow up with ‘doesn’t it hurt though?’. And almost all will agree. At face value, why would anyone love to participate in an activity that they expect will cause them to suffer? 

Anyone who has ever been for a run can probably relate to realising the above ridiculousness at some point while running – ‘Why on earth do I do this?’. Training for endurance events also requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline. The reason we persist is likely because it represents a core set of values – our ‘Why’.

For some, the ‘Why’ might be the feeling of challenging yourself, feeling of connectedness to the running community or as way to practice gratitude for mental health. There are no correct answers. Values are far more vague than goals – they can never be fully achieved. This is the beauty of them – values persist where goals might expire, and living your values is independent of your performances or race outcomes.

If you are in touch with your values and how you found yourself here, they become easier to draw on when required. When training is tedious, and it feels easier to just hit the snooze button. Acting consistently with our values may not always be enjoyable, but we recognise that it is important, so we follow through. It’s that 4am training session in the rain when ‘no-one is watching’. Being intentional about noticing, documenting and monitoring your values-driven processes can bring a greater sense of enjoyment and commitment to your training. 

You Don’t Have To Stop

From the ACT perspective in endurance sports, why fight unhelpful thoughts and feelings of discomfort if we can expect them and know they are a core component of the sport we love? The personal strength that is associated with conquering discomfort in endurance sports even forms part of the ‘Why’ for many athletes. It’s important to note here, I am referring to discomfort from maximum physical effort and fatigue – like running an interval at threshold, pushing your bike up a steep incline, or those last couple of miles. The approach I recommend for managing these experiences is to be open and accepting when we inevitably meet them, rather than trying to ‘fix’ them.

Putting cognitive effort into trying to change or suppress unhelpful thoughts such as ‘I’ve had enough’, or ‘I don’t think I can do this’ might cause more distress in the situation. It can also distract from putting effort into the essential physical processes that are simply turning the legs over. This can be illustrated in a silly way as, ‘Whatever you do, DO NOT think about an elephant, it will harm your performance’.

Of course, an elephant immediately pops into your mind, and trying to remove it dominates our attention. Shifting the focus away from trying to control or change thoughts and feelings creates room for more productive engagement with the situation and growth from living these experiences fully, and in line with our values above.

There are plenty of thoughts we have in a day that we do not act upon. These thoughts occur, and we simply do not do anything about them. Similarly, just because you may think you need to stop running, does not mean you have to if you recognise it as avoiding the discomfort that comes from effort.

In the familiar example above, a feeling of fatigue generates a thought – ‘I need to stop’.  If you’re a new runner, this might hit close to home. When these enter our awareness, we make a choice to act or not. In fact, if you did choose to stop, you have reinforced the very thought-behaviour pattern in question. We want to de-couple this relationship if we are to manage fatigue and continue to perform as close as we can to our physical capability.

For example, there is a subtle but very important difference between ‘I need to stop’ and ‘I’m having a thought that I need to stop’, as per our earlier example. The first is a command to action, the second is just noticing that a thought popped into your mind. This simple exercise in reframing unhelpful thoughts can help us to accept them for what they are – thoughts. When conceptualised this way, it is easier to adopt strategies for dropping them or letting them go along your way – like taking a weight out of a backpack every so often. By practicing accepting thoughts, we leave more room in our mind to trust our training and past commitment to our physical processes.

From a different point of view, this approach might also bring new meaning to infuriating statements from supporters and coaches such as ‘Just keep putting one foot in front of the other’, ‘You’re really holding your form’ or ‘You look great!’. These comments are about actions – behaviours they can see. You’re acting as if you were an athlete with no feelings of fatigue in that moment. At the end of the day, only actions get us to the finish line. Regardless of feelings of fatigue, discomfort, or any unhelpful thoughts, these comments celebrate the evidence of your ability to persist despite them.

Plan To Show Up

Athletes in any sport are quick to recognise the importance of a physical training plan to prepare for this. In a typical endurance training program, there are a mixture of session types targeting different physical performance aspects – long runs, interval sessions, targeted strength training etc. to build aerobic and anaerobic capacity, improve lactate clearance and Vo2 Max.

The different challenges that a diversity of physical training sessions present is the ideal opportunity to create a foundation for mental training plan to match. Like any training, mental training comes from the deliberate repetition of our actions, processes and routines. Failing to plan our mental training processes is leaving this essential component of endurance to chance. This may be as simple as going for a run with the commitment to practicing a specific mindfulness strategy (like the examples above). Here are some recommendations for both athletes and coaches.

Routines

• Creating a routine to document your observed experiences against the function or purpose of the session. Use this to reflect on what you might have noticed about the thoughts and sensations that occurred to you under different efforts and conditions. You might use these insights to build visualisations to prepare for difficult periods in a race with sessions of comparable challenge. For example, those designed to simulate the physical experience of fatigue in the latter stages of a race.

Alone Time

• If you typically complete your long run or ride socially, create opportunities to practice becoming more open and aware of your experience alone. This is especially important if you will be racing alone. 

Mental Flexibility

• If you are naturally drawn to either monitoring internal states or external awareness, plan sessions to engage deliberately in one or the other throughout. Mental flexibility from engaging with both approaches can be useful at different points in a race, or for different types of endurance events.

Summary

To summarise, endurance sport creates special opportunities for us to realise the great sense of personal strength that comes from conquering discomfort and suffering over an extended period. For many, this experience forms part of our ‘Why’ for engaging in these sports from the start. If we want to be prepared to ‘show up’ fully for this experience – including the discomfort, fatigue – it’s essential we take advantage of training opportunities to rehearse mentally. Thoughts and sensations do not need to interact with the repetitive sequence of actions that’s been the focus of our physical training. Embracing this perspective can bring more enjoyment to the process and the inspiring challenge of endurance.

If you are an endurance sports competitor or coach and would like to expand on these ideas then Morgan is available for private performance psychology coaching either in person in Brisbane (QLD, Australia) or via Webcam for those physically located elsewhere. The best way to start the process is by filling in this short enquiry form and mentioning your preference to work with “Morgan Spence”.

Below is a 16 minute video on what has become known as The Aeroplane Analogy. It basically explains how mental toughness and mental health fit into the overall performance picture. And below that a full transcription of the video in case you’d rather read than watch (or do both). Enjoy and as always please share and comment.

Transcription

Greetings, everybody. I hope you’re well. My name is Gareth Mole. I’m one of the senior sport and performance psychologists that has the great pleasure to work for Condor Performance. We’re an Australian-based group of sport and performance psychologists that have been providing mental toughness training services since 2005. My colleagues and I at Condor Performance are the creators and the custodians of Metuf. Metuf has been designed to solve one of the most common problems in competitive sport, and that is that everybody seems to be aware of the importance of the mental side. Yet, at the same time, there is a tremendous lack of understanding in terms of how to improve it. So Metuf is the answer to that dilemma.

In order for me to explain how mental toughness fits into the bigger picture as part of this very brief introductory video, I’m going to use an analogy that the competitive athlete is a little bit like a four-engined airplane, similar to the one that has just flown onto your screen. So there’s a couple of things to mention before I actually take you through what each part of the airplane represents. So the first thing to mention is that the mindset of those that actually work on airplanes, so for example, aeronautical engineers, is a mindset that we believe would be incredibly valuable if adopted by competitive athletes and coaches.

The mindset that they have is one whereby they do not wait for something to go wrong before they attend to it. They are constantly checking in on the state of all different aspects of their aircraft. The likelihood that something goes wrong is a lot, lot lower because they are constantly doing checks and maintenance. This is a mindset that would be incredibly valuable if you are a competitive athlete or a competitive sporting coach. Unfortunately, the default is for something to only get a significant amount of attention when something goes wrong.

The second reason why this analogy is so helpful is because as you can imagine, there is no point in having four engines that are in fantastic condition if they’re attached to an aircraft that is falling into disrepair. I’m going to come back to that second part of the analogy after I’ve taken you through all the different aspects of the airplane. Okay. So let’s start by giving you some clues. So engine one is PC. Engine two is TC. The main body of the aircraft is MB and WB. The third engine is MT, and the fourth engine is TW. If you like, pause the video and have a little bit of a go at trying to work out what each of these five different aspects of the airplane is referring to.

Okay, so let’s go through the answers. Let’s see how you end. So PC refers to physical capabilities, and one way you could break down the physical aspects of your sport is to think about it in terms of speed, fitness, strength, flexibility, and balance. TC refers to technical consistency, and technical consistency is basically where we would consider all the different skills that are applicable for your sport. Of course, because this Metuf program is designed for all coaches and all athletes of all sports, then I’m simply going to refer to them here as skill A, skill B, skill C, and skill D, for example.

But to give you a bit of a clue as to what these are for you in your particular sport, it’s probably the area that you’ve spent the most amount of time on. So for example, if you’re a golfer, then I suspect that you have spent the most amount of time on areas such as practicing your putting, practicing your short game, practicing your long game. If you are a rugby player, then I suspect you spent the most amount of time practicing your passing, practicing your catching, practicing your kicking, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Okay. Next, we have mental toughness, and all I’m going to do for mental toughness at this stage is give you the first letter of each of the five different aspects of mental toughness. So M, E, T, U, and F. I’ll let you think about that for a little bit. Moving on to TW. TW refers to tactical wisdom, and tactical wisdom is basically all about on-field decision-making. I’m not going to go into any detail in terms of tactical wisdom, except to mention a couple of things.

One is we are referring to the decisions that get made in sporting contests. So we are not referring to life decisions, for example. That is going to be better contained in the MB WB section. Of course, the second thing to acknowledge, as is the case with all of these engines, is that sports, of course, do vary significantly in terms of the amount that is going on. So for example, a tennis player and a squash player, of course, have to make hundreds and hundreds of decisions almost instantly as part of a tennis match or a squash match. Whereas, for example, a 100-meter sprinter does not have nearly the same amount of decisions to make in their competitive environment.

Okay. So those are the four engines, and we won’t be finished until we have worked out what the MB and the WB is referring to. So I’d be interested to know how many of you worked out, but that stands for mental health and wellbeing. That’s right. The main part of the aircraft is mental health and wellbeing, and I’m going to go back to why this analogy, that the competitive athlete is like a four-engined airplane is so useful. So I want to emphasise that there is not a lot of point in having amazing physical capabilities, amazing technical abilities, really good sporting mental toughness, and amazing on-field decision-making if your overall mental health and wellbeing is suffering.

In other words, there’s no point in having four amazing engines attached to an airplane that is falling into disrepair. So you can imagine if there was an airplane where the main fuselage is all rusty and full of holes, and yet attached to that airplane were four engines that were straight out of the factory floor, brand new, ready to go. That aircraft is going to struggle because although the engines are doing their best to basically propel the aircraft towards its destination, the fact that they’re attached to an aircraft that’s falling into disrepair is a potential disaster waiting to happen.

So logic would suggest that in those circumstances, it would be a more logical, more sensible to improve the actual main part of the aircraft first or at least at the same time as looking at the engines. If it is an area of concern to you, then it’s probably worth you prioritising your energy into improving that area either first or alongside areas such as physical, technical, mental, and tactical. What we are trying to avoid is for you to ignore your mental health and wellbeing completely, and just focus on those four sporting engines. If you would like some assistance on mental health and wellbeing, then the best way of going about that is for you to speak to someone, a family member, your family doctor. For example, just say that you are concerned about your mental health and that you would like to do some kind of assessment. That is always the best way to start.

This Metuf program will not directly help you with your mental health and wellbeing as you can appreciate. The program has been created in order to improve sporting mental toughness. So that M, E, T, U, and F that you’ll find out about in a minute. So we are not going to talk specifically about mental health and wellbeing as part of this program, but that’s not to say that we are diminishing its importance. In many ways, we’re doing the exact opposite.

Okay. To finish up this very brief introductory video, what I want to do is set up the rest of the video presentations that are about to follow. So you may recall that we broke down physical capabilities into five different sub-areas. So speed, fitness, strength, flexibility, and balance, for example. So now, we want to do the same for mental toughness, and let’s see how many you managed to work out. So basically, the M stands for motivation. The E stands for emotions. The T stands for thoughts, U for unity, and F for focus.

So when we talk about mental toughness, we’re actually talking about a combination of these five different areas, and it is important to emphasise that it is much more useful to talk about it at the subcategory level. As you can appreciate, it’s quite possible for an athlete to be highly motivated, but to really struggle with their focus, for example. You can have those two things happening at the same time, and so it would be counterproductive for us to describe either ourselves, an athlete, or even a sporting team as mentally tough because in doing so, we lose out on the ability for us to hone in on these five separate aspects of mental toughness.

So the second thing to mention is that if I was to ask you to come up with ideas on how to improve the five aspects of physical capabilities, I’m guessing that you’re going to have a whole bunch of ideas that will come to mind pretty quickly. So for example, for speed, we might do some sprint training. To improve fitness, we might do some endurance training, resistance for strength, stretching for flexibility, and then of course, balancing if we want to improve our balance or our proprioception.

If I was to put you on the spot, however, and ask you to do the same for mental toughness, can you list five different ideas, activities, tasks, processes that are designed to improve motivation, emotions, thoughts, unity, and focus, what would you come up with? What would come to mind? If you’re like most people, not a lot comes to mind. You might basically think about maybe a little bit of goal setting for motivation, and that’s often when you might run out of suggestions. So we are here to address that issue, and we’re going to do it in a very simple way, a very intentionally simple way. That’s through the introduction of mental methods.

So as you can see there, what we are basically going to do in the upcoming video presentations is introduce you to five mental methods. At the moment, we can call them mental methods A, B, C, D, and E. Each one of them designed to address the five different aspects of mental toughness in the same way that sprint training, endurance, resistance, stretching, and balancing address speed, fitness, strength, flexibility, and balance respectively. So I look forward to seeing you at the beginning of the video presentation, which is all about motivation and how to either improve or maintain it. See you then.