Category: Mental Toughness Digest

The Mental Toughness Digest is a weekly email sent by the sport and performance psychologists from Condor Performance. It’s our way of staying in touch with the thousands of people who have contacted us since it all started in 2005.

The Digest doesn’t pretend to be a source of scientific facts that might be found in a peer-reviewed journal. Instead, it aims to promote thoughts and discussions about the important role that psychology plays in sport and performance.

Composure As A Mental Skill

“Composure is the ruler of instability”
~ Lao Tzu

What Exactly Is Composure?

Composure is up there when we consider some of the most important mental skills to develop as an athlete or performer. But how many consider composure a mental skill that can be practised and improved?

First, let’s work out what we mean when we say composure.

The dictionary definition is “the feeling of being calm, confident, and in control.” Searching for its meaning in sports suggests “whether emotions dictated how someone performed under pressure.“

I want to explore an example from the perspective of a spectator. 

As I alluded to above, the context of the situation usually plays a role. In this example, let’s say we are watching an important match, the scorelines are close, and there comes a crucial moment in the competition where an athlete can influence the outcome. When we watch them, there is a sense of poise, their body language is confident, and their movements are precise and full of conviction. 

The play is booming, and the audience applauds. We intuitively know there was pressure at that moment, but the athlete did not seem to waver in their appearance and execution. The assumption we usually make after seeing this is that the athlete must have felt calm to do this. However, in my experience as a performance psychologist, athletes are commonly stressed during these moments.

The answers lie not in how we control the experience of feeling calm but more in staying committed to our performance actions while the stress is present.

The Separation Of Actions From Emotions

Fundamentally, when we talk about building composure, is the expectation that we must change our emotional state or actions? The first step towards composure is understanding our openness to our emotional experience.

If we expect to change our emotional state before taking action, this creates a significantly limited approach to our performance. Essentially, we create a condition on our performance where if it works, then we can do well, and if it does not, then we can’t. Secondly, it shifts our concentration away from the present competition in front of us. We concentrate on an uncomfortable, natural human experience we have little control over.

I want to clarify that I’m not saying we have to give up on a calm state but more about having some psychological flexibility towards it to take the most meaningful actions with or without it.

This allows us to free ourselves from the conditions of our actions, creating the opportunity for the preferred psychological experiences. Have you ever had a moment in your sport or anywhere else where you noticed pressure or emotions building up? Instead of giving into the emotional reaction, you committed to a different, more meaningful action. 

Even if the outcome didn’t go your way, did you genuinely regret doing it? There is something liberating about letting go of the emotional control agenda and acting in a way aligned with who you want to be. 

If you want to read more about emotions in sports, my colleague, Madalyn Incognito, has written more about them in this article.

A World-Class Example of Sporting Composure

Roger Federer is the first athlete to come to mind when considering composure as a mental skill.

If you could create an example of someone who might have “managed emotions well” after 20 grand slam titles and the way he carried himself on the court, I would have picked RF to be that guy.

However, when you listen to his interviews, time after time, he openly discusses moments where he felt pressure, felt nervous, and noticed that he had thoughts about losing. Yet he manages his body language well, trusts his preparation and prioritises his behaviour on the court first.

Hear it from the man, the legend himself:

When asked about how to stay calm under pressure, his response contains three key elements:

  • Be passionate and love the sport (all aspects of it)
  • Accepting challenging circumstances and the outcome for whatever it is
  • On the court, give everything you have

Having A Process Focus

As I described at the beginning, composure has a situational component. We value it more in high-pressure moments. Part of the psychology of composure is how we interpret pressure. I define pressure as an expectation to create a result. How we perceive our ability to control the results influences what we focus on, which can then influence our performance. 

Try answering the question: how much control do you have over the result? For the most part, in sports, so many factors outside our control influence the result. We can execute our abilities flawlessly and still not achieve the desired outcome. 

Condor Performance’s founding sport psychologist, Gareth J. Mole, goes into more detail in this article, and I highly recommend giving it some of your time.

Where we place our focus during performance matters a lot. Overfocusing on trying to create a result that we can only partially influence will create an unstable foundation for composure.

Many of the world’s best athletes take a process-focused rather than a results-focused approach.

That means that when a high-pressure situation occurs, composure is maintained by a deep understanding of what they have influence over in that moment: their actions. We observe their ability to be present in their process. 

A Summary Of Composure

To summarise, composure is about how we respond to our actions when we know it is essential. Often, a mix of human experiences, thoughts and feelings accompany these moments, which can be uncomfortable. Try to practice psychological flexibility in these moments, be open to those experiences and commit to your process. Our emotions do not have to dictate our actions. Meaningful actions unhooked from emotions are what create fulfilling human experiences.

Composure is an excellent topic I could discuss further, but it is a nice way to get the ball rolling. Please share some of your thoughts or personal experiences in the comments below.

If you are ready to start working one-on-one to develop composure and mental skills, fill out one of our four Mental Toughness Questionnaires, and one of our team will get back to you with your results and information about our services.

Feedback for Teams

Although this fascinating article by Dr Michelle Pain uses eSports throughout to provide examples of the concepts covered, it is worthwhile reading for anybody involved in the coaching or participation of groups.

Feedback for Teams using esports for the examples

Feedback for Teams: Cultivating a Culture of Open Communication in Esports

In the high-stakes, fast-paced world of esports, success hinges not only on individual skill but on the ability of a team to function as a cohesive unit. One of the most critical tools for achieving this synergy is feedback for teams—a structured, intentional process that allows players and coaches to identify what’s working, what isn’t, and how to iterate toward improvement. However, fostering an environment where feedback flows freely requires more than just scheduling post-scrim debriefs; it demands a deliberate focus on psychological safety, collaborative leadership, and shared accountability. This article explores how esports organisations can build a culture where feedback for teams becomes a catalyst for growth rather than a source of friction.

1. Psychological Safety: The Foundation of Honest Feedback for Teams

Before a team can engage in open dialogue, players must feel safe enough to speak candidly without fear of judgment or retaliation. Psychological safety—the belief that one can take interpersonal risks without negative consequences—is the bedrock of effective feedback for teams. In esports, where egos and emotions often run high, establishing this trust is non-negotiable.

A daily debrief tool, used consistently after scrims or matches, can institutionalize this practice. For example, structuring discussions around questions like “What did we do well today?” and “Where did we fall short?” shifts the focus from blaming individuals to analysing collective performance. Coaches and team leaders must actively model vulnerability by acknowledging their own mistakes first (“I should have called rotations earlier”), demonstrating that feedback for teams is a collaborative process, not a witch hunt. Over time, this consistency builds a culture where players feel empowered to voice concerns about strategy, communication, or even role discomfort.

2. Collaborative Feedback for Teams vs. Accusatory Language

The difference between productive feedback for teams and toxic criticism often lies in framing. Accusatory language (“You threw that fight”) triggers defensiveness, while collaborative phrasing (“How can we better position next time?”) invites problem-solving. In esports, where split-second decisions define outcomes, teams must prioritise clarity over blame.

A debrief tool can enforce this by requiring feedback to adhere to a “we” mindset. For instance, using a “Start-Stop-Continue” framework:

  • Start: What should we begin doing?
  • Stop: What habits are holding us back?
  • Continue: What strengths should we preserve?

This structure ensures feedback for teams remains forward-looking and solution-oriented. Additionally, setting ground rules—like “critique the play, not the player”—helps depersonalise mistakes. When a support player admits to struggling with shot-calling, the team’s response should focus on redistributing responsibilities, not assigning fault.

3. Leadership Modelling: Graceful Feedback for Teams

Effective feedback for teams starts at the top. Coaches and team captains must exemplify how to give and receive constructive criticism. This means balancing honesty with empathy—for example, pairing critiques with recognition (“Your mid-game rotations were sharp, but let’s tighten our early-game vision control”). Leaders who respond gracefully to feedback themselves (“Thanks for pointing that out—I’ll adjust the practice schedule”) reinforce that growth, not perfection, is the goal.

In esports, where many leaders are former players, transitioning from a “star performer” mindset to a “servant leader” mentality is crucial. A coach who openly seeks input from analysts or lower-ranked players (“What did you see from the observer view?”) signals that feedback for teams is a collective effort, not a top-down mandate. This humility trickles down, encouraging players to view feedback as a tool, not a threat.

4. Creating Space for Vulnerability in Feedback for Teams

Some esports roles—whether DPS, support, or IGL (in-game leader)—carry immense pressure. Players may hesitate to admit they’re struggling in their assigned position, fearing they’ll be benched or criticised. Feedback for teams must normalise vulnerability by framing role adjustments as strategic pivots, not failures.

During debriefs, coaches can ask direct but supportive questions:

  • “Does anyone feel their current role isn’t leveraging their strengths?”
  • “What support do you need to succeed in this position?”

When a player voices discomfort, the team can collaboratively explore solutions, such as revising compositions or adjusting practice drills. Celebrating players who speak up (“Thanks for being honest—let’s tackle this together”) reinforces psychological safety. Over time, this openness prevents minor issues from snowballing into resentment or burnout.

5. Recognition: Fuelling Motivation Through Feedback for Teams

Feedback for teams isn’t just about fixing flaws—it’s also about amplifying what works. Publicly recognizing improvements sparked by feedback (“Our late-game coordination has improved 30% since we adjusted comms”) motivates players to stay engaged. Similarly, praising selfless acts (“Shoutout to Alex for switching heroes to cover our weak side”) ties individual sacrifices to team success.

‘Giving recognition’ is a key strategy for a team’s success. Players work harder when they know their teammates will comment when they do something right, and I encourage that recognition in the game (except don’t just say ‘Nice!’; use their name too, e.g., ‘Nice, Sam!’) and in the debriefing tool. 

6. Shared Accountability: The Ultimate Goal of Feedback for Teams

The pinnacle of effective team feedback is shared accountability—the understanding that every member owns the problems and the solutions. This mindset shifts the narrative from “Who messed up?” to “How do we fix this together?”

For example, if a team consistently loses control of key objectives, the debrief should explore systemic fixes (e.g., revising practice drills, assigning dedicated scouts) rather than scapegoating. Leaders can reinforce this by using inclusive language (“We need to improve our map awareness”) and distributing ownership of action items (“Jaden, can you lead the vision control drill tomorrow?”).

7. How I Make Feedback for Teams Work

The debriefing tool I use is a Google Sheet. Every player has an allocated line to complete, noting how they thought the team performed (overall), how they performed (overall) – I use a 7-point emoji scale – and then a wide column that allows wrapped text where they can type their Notes. This process is superior to merely talking through a debrief because I have players type their responses and not their ‘enter’ until everyone is finished typing. That way, everyone’s honest thoughts are revealed when we say ‘3-2-1-Go’, and everyone hits enter, and then each player talks through their Notes in turn (so we even get to hear from the people who usually are very quiet).

Because everyone is contributing and investing in the team, the team is less likely to be destabilised by an unexpected loss. There is space in the next column for writing down solutions the team comes up with when discussing the Notes. This is what my Debrief tool looks like:

Conclusion: Feedback for Teams as a Competitive Advantage

In esports, where margins between victory and defeat are razor-thin, teams that master feedback for teams gain a decisive edge. Teams transform feedback from a dreaded obligation into a strategic asset by prioritising psychological safety, collaborative language, and shared accountability. The daily debrief becomes not just a post-mortem but a launchpad for innovation. When players trust that their voices matter—and that growth is a shared mission—they unlock cohesion and adaptability levels that no solo carry can match. Ultimately, the best teams aren’t just skilled and proficient at learning together.

By embedding these principles into their culture, esports teams can ensure that feedback for teams isn’t a checkbox exercise but the heartbeat of their success.

Performance Mindfulness

Sport Psychology draws from many models but recently Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is gaining some serious momentum.

Performance Mindfulness can be done virtually anywhere

What Is Performance Mindfulness?

Under the banner of “psychotherapy”, there are hundreds of different approaches. Sometimes called models or philosophies, some work together, while others are opposites. For some mindfulness (or performance mindfulness) is everything, for others it’s nonexistent.

At Condor Performance, we are open to our psychologists using whichever therapeutic models they believe are best. One of our core values is ‘always do what’s in the best interest of the client’. This eliminates the need to force our performance and sport psychologists to use the same ‘tool kit’.

However, we would be negligent if we didn’t point them in the right direction of several methods that we know tend to be effective repeatedly.

CBT and ACT

I have used two major models in my applied work with sporting clients. My go-to philosophies include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

I should mention that I am not thrilled that both end in the word ‘therapy’. The word therapy, to most, suggests a more clinical or counselling framework. Although my colleagues and I are quite capable of assisting our clients with mental health issues, our bread-and-butter is far more performance-orientated.

Like many psychology students from the 1990s, I was mainly exposed to CBT models during my undergraduate years. In fact, so dominant was CBT in the early part of my training that I assumed it was ‘the only way’ to help clients!

Despite this, I was always uncomfortable about the idea of helping people to think too differently. Quite frankly, it just felt too hard and without any real benefit. Something was missing from CBT’s toolkit. Luckily, due to the psychologist’s CPD requirements, I was constantly being exposed to new ideas.

Russ Harris in 2013

I attended one of Russ Harris’ Intro courses to ACT in 2013. Across only two days, many of my questions were answered. Helping clients become better at accepting thoughts and feelings instead of struggling with them seemed far more sensible from a performance psychology point of view.

Taking part in at least one of Russ’s workshops is now virtually compulsory for new team Condor Performance members. Here is a picture of Darren Godwin with the Great Man in 2023.

The Wild Beast Analogy

Steven C. Hayes first developed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the 1980s. His starting point was that the cognitions of human beings are very much like wild animals. You can try taming them, but ultimately, they will do what they will.

So, instead of trying to change our thoughts directly, we are far better off accepting them most of the time.

Imagine trying to get a tennis player always to have the same thoughts before they serve. Or to always think positively. Now imagine that that tennis player is in a challenging situation. Maybe she is slightly injured, or perhaps she’s double-match point down. Now, she is in a bind, and we expect her to think a certain way, too!

Before 2013 (Discovering ACT)

Sport Psychologist: What do you think before each serve?

Tennis Player: Not quite sure.

Sport Psychologist: I want you to be sure. Let’s devise something you can say to yourself before every single serve.

Tennis Player: Ok, you mean like “stay calm”.

Sport Psychologist: Yes, that’s work.

After 2013 (Discovering ACT)

Sport Psychologist: What do you think before each serve?

Tennis Player: Not quite sure.

Sport Psychologist: Great, it’s your actions that count. Think whatever you want, even if it’s negative; just stick to your pre-point routine.

The Misuse of The Word Mindfulness

Mindfulness has and continues to be confused with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Mindfulness is an increased awareness of the present moment with decreased judgment. It’s just one part of ACT, a very important part, but not the entire model.

When I use ACT to inform the one-on-one mental training I do with my sporting and non-sporting clients, I do so in the following way.

First, I explain that uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are a part of human existence. The wild animal analogy can help here.

Next, I explain how thoughts are separate from actions. You can try this now.

Start rubbing the top of your head while thinking how silly it is to rub one’s head. Even better, say to yourself, “I am not rubbing my head right now”. But continue to do the action.

Mental Separation

All too often in the human experience, thoughts, feelings, and actions are regarded as inseparable. The favoured term in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is fused. Therefore, separating thoughts from actions is logically called diffusion, a key part of ACT.

So, we have to get better at accepting our thoughts. You can try this alone to start with, but it is challenging. We have created a 16-minute audio guide for anyone who needs a helping hand (yes, it’s free).

Really Simple Mindfulness

This brings us to the final part of ACT, the commitment part. By commitment, what we are saying is committed actions. More so than almost any other human endeavour, sports are facts full of actions. There is a virtually unlimited number of tasks that can be performed.

So, performance mindfulness is just regular mindfulness in a performance setting. And it’s in these settings that fusing (getting caught up) with your thoughts can be so damaging.

Mindfulness and Acceptance Approaches in Sport PerformanceDownload

If you are curious about discovering more about our work at Condor Performance, a great place to start is to listen to some of the recorded answers to the most frequent questions we get by clicking here. Or get in touch via one of these methods. 👉 Please email us at [email protected] or fill in our Contact Us form. 👉 Completing one of our Mental Toughness Questionnaires is also a great way to reach out to our team of sport and performance psychologists.

Culture and High Performance

It might be argued that culture is not the right word. Some in the industry suggest it’s more of a buzzword than a real concept. Let’s find out!

Culture and High Performance: The Basics

As more and more of my sport psychology consulting nowadays is with whole sporting teams, I have become increasingly interested in mental skills that relate to groups of individuals. One of these is to take a look at the culture of the team.

Examples of Poor Culture

The idea of culture and high performance was extensively explored in cricket in 2018. For those who do not follow this fascinating sport or who can’t remember, here is a quick summary from Wikipedia:

The 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal, also known as Sandpapergate, was a cricket cheating scandal surrounding the Australian national cricket team. In March 2018, during the third Test match against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in flight. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved, and all three received unprecedented sanctions from Cricket Australia. Although he was found not to have been directly involved, Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, announced he would step down from his role following the scandal. Smith was replaced by Tim Paine as captain in all formats before Aaron Finch took over from Paine in ODIs and T20Is.

After the dust had settled and the individuals who were responsible for the act were handed down their punishments, a lot of questions were still being asked about how a group of highly regarded/paid professional athletes could have ended up in such a predicament.

What Was Going Through Their Minds

How did the locker room allow for such poor decision-making? As part of the reviews, the talk switched from individual motivations to team culture. Was it ultimately a cultural issue that existed within Australian Cricket at that time?

Culture is the collective mentality and values of a particular organisation and group.

The Right Culture Should Never Be “Assumed“

It can be inherited from those who were previously members of the group. But it can also be quite fluid as some individuals depart and new individuals join. The right culture should never be “assumed”. A culture of sorts will always exist when a group of people come together and form a team whether they’re active in creating it in their preferred way or by letting it happen naturally.

I’m of the opinion that it is something that should be named openly among everyone and worked on actively so each individual associated with the organisation can have a sense of ownership and pride over what they have created. Not only this, but a strong and positive sense of culture also gives the organisation an identity. It can provide a guiding light to the individuals that can both be used as a motivator and create a sense of accountability for everyone’s individual actions.

An intentional culture can promote the well-being of an individual as they can feel accepted and belong, and, maybe the biggest thing of all, gives everyone a chance to develop a strong sense of both the individual and collection mental toughness.

How To Start Improving The Culture of Your Team

If you are a leader of a team or even a member of one, start thinking about your organisation and what you can do to create a better environment.

My recommendation is that you waste no time creating a situation where people can begin to contribute to a discussion and the organisation’s shared values can be formalised.

From our perspective as sport and performance psychologists, one of the key things that should be kept in mind and included within the process is that we can only control our efforts and therefore the culture and pursuits of the organisation should focus on giving people the opportunity to achieve consistent and high-quality effort, rather than having an obsession with results.

People often talk about a “winning culture” within a team, but for us, if this idea of “winning” is only focusing on the results you attain, then you leave yourself and your organisation vulnerable when things are not going to plan. Maybe this is what happened to the Australian Cricket Team in 2018.

The team can have goals that strive towards certain achievements, but along the way, the true reward and meaning come from how the team and individuals within it worked towards their achievements, not what was reached at the end of the road. This classic article by my colleague Gareth on the Power Of The Process is essential if you want to explore this concept in more detail.

Summary

A big part of our role when we work with an organisation is helping them to create discussions and opportunities that drive the ideas of culture for themselves. Every organisation is different, and if you wish to discuss how you can achieve the right balance between culture and high performance, we would love to hear from you.

Feel free to email me directly at [email protected] to discuss our team consulting options in more detail.

Off-Season Mindset

‘The off season is one of the best times for elite athletes to be working on their mindset’ says International Sport Psychologist Gareth J. Mole

Early morning training session
The best athletes in the world are almost always the ones with the best Off-Season Mindset.

What Is Your Off-Season Mindset?

The “Off Season” is an odd sporting term. It typically implies that athletes and coaches from around the globe only have two gears. “On” during pre-season and the competitive months where they give everything. And then “Off” for the rest of the year when everything stops.

This Black and White / Either Or / Binary way of conceptualising the sporting year is counterproductive. Certainly from a mental standpoint. Almost without a doubt, the origin of the term Off Season comes from a bygone era when training was regarded as almost entirely physical. So these athletes would’ve overdone it physically for eight months and hence required complete rest and recovery for four months.

However, this whole idea falls apart pretty quickly when you look at modern-day high-performance preparation whereby a lot of improvement requires little or no physical movement whatsoever.

The Five Pillars

Anyone who has completed our online Mental Toughness program – Metuf – will know that “preparation” can be broken down into 5 pillars: Physical Capability (PC), Mental Toughness (MT), Tactical Wisdom (TW), Technical Consistency (TC) and LifeStyle Choices (LC).

If we assume these 5 pillars are of equal importance then really only Physical Capability (PC) requires more body than mind. The other 4 pillars are “above the neck” processes, needing little or no physical exertion.

So for highly demanding physical sports (for example CrossFit, rugby union, rugby league, American Football, AFL and endurance sports – to name the first few to come to mind) then it’s only Physical Training that might want to be reduced during the gaps between the end of the competitive season and the start of the next preseason.

But even this is questionable. If the physical demands are adequately managed during the season then the necessity of an off-season of little or no physical effort is reduced.

A Season Is A Long Time

Part of the work that we do as one of the biggest independent groups of sport psychologists and performance psychologists in the world is to pass on invaluable “mind hacks” to our monthly clients. One of these is to tweak the way we think about time.

We encourage our 1-on-1 clients to use months and weeks rather than seasons or years. In summary, use weeks to plan and review efforts. Use months to monitor progress (KPIs etc). And if you must only use periods longer than this to set goals.

Start with a week-by-week approach. Think about a week as a block of 168 hours. Add your ideal sleep-in first. Not just amounts but bedtime and wake-up time too. Then add the stuff you have little or no influence over. For example, school or medical appointments. Finally, fill in the gaps with a healthy mix of process blocks across the 5 pillars.

This typically results in 52 weeks of “the right amount” of effort instead of 40 weeks of overdoing it followed by 12 weeks of undergoing it (oh, how very common this is).

The Biggest Clue

One of the biggest clues is how you feel mentally and physically at the end of the competitive season. If you are desperate for the break then there is a good chance you’ve been overextending yourself. Many individuals involved in elite sports believe that the primary purpose of an off-season is to recover from burnout. But the sports science is clear now. Burnout harms performance consistency, so we should be designing our preseason and the season to prevent burnout. Sometimes, less is more.

The concept of best-kept secrets is a bit of a cliche in sport. But having said that some things genuinely seem to separate the best from the rest. One of these is not so much the amount of time spent on training but the way it is designed and implemented. Not all 60-minute training sessions are equal. Some will be outstanding, whilst others can be damaging (it would have been better if they had not taken place at all).

Need A Hand?

If you feel like you might benefit from a professional helping hand in developing a smarter way of going about your preparation then why not get in touch? Regardless of how you contact us, we will attempt to get back to you within a couple of working days and talk you through the unique way in which Condor Performance goes about our sport psychology consulting.

Reframing Mistakes and Errors 

Mistakes and errors can often be viewed as setbacks or moments of failure that we normally strive to avoid. However, what if we could shift our perspective and see these moments as valuable opportunities for growth and learning? Reframing our understanding of mistakes and errors can transform our approach to challenges and setbacks.

LONDON, ENGLAND – August 21 2013: Graeme Swann reacts after missing a catch during day one of the 5th Investec Ashes cricket match between England and Australia.

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.

Metacognition Explained

Metacognition is ‘the human brain’s ability to think about thoughts’. Our Founding Sport Psychologist Gareth explains more.

Is this surgeon just doing it, or is she doing and thinking?

Metacognition: What Is It?

As a general rule at Condor Performance, we try to avoid too much psychobabble. Psychobabble describes the countless psychological terms that most people would never have heard of. Classic examples of sport psychology psychobabble might include terms such as diffusion, reframing, and contraindication!

Unfortunately, with the term metacognition, we can use no other word instead. Overthinking may come close, but it’s not quite the same.

Metacognition is ‘the human brain’s ability to think about thoughts’.

This is quite unusual and unique across the Animal Kingdom. Thinking about thinking requires knowledge of the cognitions that exist in the first place. Don’t get me wrong. Most primates, such as chimpanzees, also possess complicated thought processes. But they probably have them, and that’s it. They don’t try to do anything with these thoughts like we do.

Metacognition for humans is primarily functional. Our ability to reflect on our thoughts allows us to be far more creative and patient than most other species. However, from a performance psychology point of view, it can produce issues.

Metacognition: Why Is It An Issue?

The nitty-gritty of why metacognition can be problematic from a mental side of performance boils down to the connection between the thinking and doing parts of our brain. Most readers will agree that once a performer has notched up enough hours of repetition for their particular set of motor skills, then no thought is required anymore.

The experienced surgeon doesn’t need to think “be steady” when holding the scruple close to the incision point. Elite netballers do not have to think of “soft hands” just before the moment in which they receive the ball from a teammate.

This is different from those who are only learning these motor skills. Before muscle memory has been established, it may be helpful to think of all sorts of related things to remember the correct technique. Please note I used the word helpful here, not essential.

Most thoughts, the natural ones in particular, when they occur simultaneously as the elite performer is executing their well-rehearsed skills, will have no bearing on the consistency of these movements. Even irrelevant thoughts such as “I hope my Mum is watching” are acceptable and harmless to well-practised motor skills.

💡 The Struggle Switch 😬

The issues start when we incorrectly believe that our thoughts play a key role in the success of these performance actions. This can play out in several ways. The performers may believe they need to think a certain way to perform a certain way. A Struggle Switch comes with this erroneous (more psychobabble, sorry) belief. Suddenly, negative thoughts (wholly normal and potentially harmless – see below) become the primary focus.

Wellness Tip_Struggle Switch_041322Download

Neuroscientists are still trying to determine precisely what happens in these instances, but some switch seems to occur. In other words, although the muscle memory of the well-rehearsed actions still exists, it appears to be switched off temporarily whilst the blood flow is diverted from the cerebellum and towards the front lobe.

Of course, this has a massively negative impact on performance consistency, and unfortunately, in many cases, the performer and those supporting him or her blame the negative thoughts. But it was not their fault.

Metacognition: How To Manage It

Suppose we use the concept above of The Struggle Switch in simple terms. In that case, some aspect of the performance practice needs to be unapologetically about getting better at accepting thoughts (yes, all of them) rather than struggling with them.

Some form of mindfulness regularly is likely to be the best way of learning the basics of becoming less susceptible to metacognition in performance situations. It might be better to be guided by a qualified and experienced professional to start mastering this whilst practising.

The current Condor Performance team is a professional group based in Australia and New Zealand that consults across the English-speaking world.

You can view their profile via this link and then reach out to our Intake team via this one.

Powered by Purpose

By Alexandra Mapstone

Are these sprinters powered by purpose?

Unlock The Power Of Your Purpose

Some big philosophical questions will come up at some point, if they have not already. For example, ‘Who am I?’, ‘What am I meant to do here?’, and ‘What am I trying to achieve with my life?’

I have always been intrigued by the concept of purpose. We go about our daily tasks, but when asked why, most of us are stumped.

At this point, we may think about things of meaning or significance to us. For example, an athlete may find meaning in playing a leadership role in their team. Or a sports coach may love helping an athlete achieve their goal.

But This Is Only The Tip Of The Iceberg

Richard Leider, an international bestselling author and coach, describes purpose like this.

“The deepest dimension within us- our central core or essence– where we have a profound sense of who we are, where we came from and where we’re going. Purpose is the quality we choose to shape our lives around. Purpose is a source of energy and direction.”

Our purpose is the reason we do something or why something exists. It is having a clear direction or goal that drives our choices and actions. The Japanese call it ikigai, – a person’s reason for being.

A real sense of purpose is one of the most fundamental human needs. It is vital in shaping our lives and bringing us satisfaction. It is the subjective perception that one’s daily life is worth living and full of energy and motivation. There are three core components of purpose: 

  • Goal orientation 
  • Personal meaningfulness 
  • A focus on aims beyond the self 

Purpose Is Unique

There isn’t one definite area that needs to be fulfilled to live a more meaningful life. People derive purpose from various activities. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger continued to pursue his plans to become a great bodybuilder despite reservations from his parents and others.

https://condorperformance.com/powered-by-purpose/

For the Okinawan community, a sense of purpose involves working in their garden to bring vegetables home, working a stall in the morning market, or giving social support to the elderly.

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, explored the idea that purpose is essential for human well-being and resilience. Even when faced with extreme suffering and adversity. He suggested that having a purpose gives people a reason to keep moving forward, providing a sense of direction, motivation, and fulfilment. 

Purpose is unique and arises from one’s values, passions, and sense of responsibility. 

Why Purpose Matters

Research has shown that having a sense of purpose is connected to experiencing less conflict when making decisions and can help overcome stress, anxiety, or depression. It is also shown to increase health and decrease mortality rates. In the Netflix documentary Live to 100, having a sense of purpose is believed to be one of the most influential factors contributing to individuals’ longevity.

Companies driven by purpose are also shown to have better growth, increased employee productivity, and higher success rates. A sense of purpose in life has ripple effects on most areas of life.

Benefits of Purpose for Sports Performance 

Greater goal engagement: Setting goals that motivate you to work hard towards achieving them helps to provide a sense of purpose. This old but still helpful article by the Founder of Condor Performance, Gareth J. Mole, delves into this topic in more detail.

Higher emotional resilience: You will inevitably encounter challenges and tough moments during your sporting career. This makes it even more important to return from these testing times more robust than before. Having a clear sense of purpose helps us remember our reasons for doing what we are doing and continue working towards becoming the athlete and person we want to be, even after disappointing performances. 

Higher levels of internal motivation and passion: Having a strong sense of purpose can help maintain a high level of internal motivation that draws on the core reasons you became involved in your sport and your inner desire and enjoyment when feeling that sense of achievement. It may help to reinvigorate your passion for participating in your chosen sport and spark new areas for achievement. It has been suggested that when athletes can play sports and live their lives with a sense of purpose, they feel connected to something bigger than themselves.

Why Don’t I Know My Purpose? 

Knowing about purpose and its benefits doesn’t automatically result in knowing yours, and often, people will struggle to define their purpose in life. This is because we are usually distracted from our goals or pressured to follow a path away from our core passions.

It is estimated that only 20% of adolescents report having a sense of purpose. And that 59% of American adults felt they had found a purpose and meaning in their lives. This suggests that developing a sense of purpose is complex and may take a long time. Our sense of purpose needs to be discovered, and it is only by working on purpose and consistently asking ourselves, ‘Why do I get up in the morning?’ that we inch closer to finding the answer to this question. We must commit to discovering our sense of purpose, as without purpose, we will find ourselves lost and far away from our true fulfilment in life and work. 

It goes without saying that there will never be a substitute for working one-on-one with qualified sports and performance psychologists (like the growing team at Condor Performance*). However, I have compiled some quick tips below that may at least help you get started.

5 Tips To Help You Find Your Purpose 

  1. Explore what is personally meaningful to you about sports.
  2. Set personal goals that align with this meaning.
  3. Explore what is beyond self-motivation. For example, I want to improve the life of my family or be a positive role model for children.
  4. Share your thoughts with others in your inner circle (e.g., family, friends, coaches).
  5. Live your purpose by exploring how you can bring it to life. 

* For more info on our services, fill out our Contact Us form here.

Mindfulness and Routines

Often, mental skills are applied separately, but as this article proves, they can sometimes work even better in pairs. What do you think? Use the comments section below to join the discussion.

LONDON, ENGLAND – August 25: Michael Clarke plays a shot as Matt Prior looks on during the Investec Ashes cricket match between England and Australia played at The Kia Oval Cricket

Mindfulness and Routines Combined!

Cricket is a game of situations that constantly change depending on the state of the game. Generally speaking, whoever wins the most situations will be victorious. Cricket, much like golf and tennis to some degree, is a sport that has significant chunks of time between these situations.

What is the problem with this? The issue is that the mind can do a lot in 30-45 seconds, approximately how long a batter has before facing their next ball. Where a player’s mind wanders off can significantly impact how they perceive, feel about, and relate to a given game situation. This may subsequently affect how an individual performs during a game, thus impacting the outcome.

This article will first distinguish the difference between pre-ball and post-ball routines and then explain how mindfulness can be helpful in the post-ball routine.

Obviously, in these bat-and-ball sports, the bowlers/pitchers and fields also have (or should have) routines, but for this article, I will focus only on the batters.

Distinguishing The Routines

There is controversy over whether one can distinguish between pre and post-ball routines for sports such as cricket and baseball. I argue that this is quite easily distinguishable. The pre-ball routine encompasses behavioural and cognitive actions only seconds before the bowler starts running in. One of the most common, by way of example, is tapping the bat on the ground a few times.

The post-ball routine begins after the completion of a shot or delivery, and the ball becomes dead. It typically extends to the point where the bowler is about to leave their mark again. This is the space of approximately 30-45 seconds where a batter’s mind is most susceptible to wandering into territory detrimental to performance.

For example, they might overthink the previous or next shot, overanalyse a game situation, or listen to the slips cordon sledging, which is done to distract the batsmen from their game.

Can the pre and post-ball routines overlap?

Yes, if the mind allows it to. This is a crucial reason why the post-ball routine is so important. Suppose a batter thinks about their previous shot or begins to internalise what the fielders say while sledging. In that case, this will likely bleed into the pre-shot routine and may impair their ability to focus on the only thing that matters when the bowler bowls… the ball!

Therefore, this short space during the post-ball routine is crucial for a batsman to get right.

The Myth Of “Switching Off”

What should the athlete do in this short window if the post-ball routine is so essential? The most common answer I heard while playing elite cricket was, “You need to switch off”. Switching off is impossible, so asking performers to do this is psychologically damaging. Let me prove it.

I want you to set a timer for 45 seconds and close your eyes. I want you to tell yourself to switch off and not think about anything. After this exercise, you should appreciate how far the mind can take us in 30-45 seconds.

If a batter is told to switch off, it allows their mind to run wild. We demonstrated how your mind can wander when sitting in a chair with a timer. Imagine putting an elite athlete amid a high-pressure game situation, where they are fatigued and possibly emotionally dysregulated, depending on what is happening. The mind runs wild!

Contrary to the “switch off” philosophy so commonly taught by coaches, batsmen need a way to pay attention in a relaxed way while also regulating any fatigue or emotion dysregulation occurring at the time. This is where performance mindfulness comes in.

Why Is Mindfulness Ideal For These Routines? 

Mindfulness is intentionally focusing on the present moment with less judgment and more curiosity than is typically natural.

An athlete can be mindful of anything occurring naturally here and now. Two great focal points of mindfulness are the breath and the five senses. Feeling their spikes dig into the turf, making a fist with their gloves, or noticing their muscles as they walk away from the crease after playing a shot are great examples of this type of attentional focus.

They can look around and notice the trees in the background or all the people in the crowd wearing blue shirts. We are trying to ground the athlete in the present moment, which will allow their mind and emotions to be balanced. When the mind runs, fatigue sets in, and emotions are dysregulated. This is the time when batters are most susceptible to making poor decisions. Poor decisions lead to worse execution of game situations, making it less likely to win the match.

Get In Touch

If this article has piqued your interest about what it might be like to work with a qualified psychologist on the mental aspect of sport and performance, get in touch via one of the below to find out more about who we are and what we do:

Want to learn more about how we work before getting in touch? Watch this two-minute video by our General Manager, David.

Excuse-Making Explored

Excuse-Making and Mental Toughness – Are They Opposites?

Excuse-Making: An Interesting Concept

The human mind is remarkable and fascinating. It is capable of so much, maybe too much. This short opinion piece will explore the concept of excuse-making. More specifically, it will try to untangle the difference between excuses and genuine reasons as it might relate to the mental side of competitive sport and performance.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines an excuse (noun) as “an explanation that frees one from fault or blame.” So, excuse-making is the act of doing this, and habitual excuse-making is doing this a lot. When I read this definition, I was a little surprised. I was expecting it to be more about facts versus fiction. But apparently not. It appears as if excuses are more like the opposite of “taking responsibility” than about accuracy.

From a sport psychology and performance psychology point of view, it’s essential that we also separate excuse-making into the outward and inner types. By this, I mean saying something just to oneself (e.g., thoughts) designed to free the thinker from fault or blame is not the same as an excuse that is vocalised to another person (or group).

Spoken Words Are Actions, Not Thoughts

Technically speaking, when you open your mouth, and words come out, these are actions. Yes, these words probably started as thoughts. And yes, the time gap between having the thought and then doing the talking can feel so quick that we believe they are the same. But they are not the same. The reason why it’s so important not to confuse them comes down to the vastly different ways we want to handle thoughts, feelings, and actions, as explained in the video below.

Thoughts, Feelings and Actions Are Different

If you take this explanation and put it into the context of inner excuse-making, then really, what we, as sport psychologists, are suggesting is to become more aware of just noticing these cognitions. Ideally, with practices like mindfulness and journaling, we can all become better at lengthening the gaps between the stimulus (the autonomic thought we have little influence over) and response (which action, if any, to take).

Because I am a diehard advocate for Psychological Flexibility as a better approach to sport, performance, life, and everything else, it’s easier to assume that I have no interest in influencing thought processes. This is not true.

Let Me Explain

Consider thoughts as either past, present, or future-oriented. The first two categories are ideally treated with extreme acceptance. Changing a past thought is impossible, and changing a present one is complicated and unnecessary for the critical stuff (actions) anyway, so leave them be.

But future thoughts are different. They have not taken place yet, so there are actions we can take that might lessen the burden on our psychological flexibility later.

Some clients will know I am a big fan of using swimming as an analogy, not just swimming but swimming in the ocean. One way to become a better ocean swimmer is to become more adept at doing your strokes whilst waves are smacking you in the jaw. We can do thousands of things to become stronger ocean swimmers. But at some point, we’d need to accept that looking at future sea conditions – to avoid the most extreme conditions that mother nature can throw at us – is also intelligent. Reduce the probability of extreme burden despite excellent preparation.

How do we reduce the burden on our psychological flexibility? There are many ways to do this, but there is no substitute for monitoring our efforts in the context of learning to make fewer excuses.

Example Please!

Peter has decided he wants to improve his short game in golf. So, instead of smashing balls at the range (which he finds much more enjoyable), he plans to use this time to work on this chipping instead. He decides to get specific and designs some drills that take 40 minutes, and he adds them to his time management plan to do this three times a week.

In simple mathematical terms, he’s aiming for 120 minutes a week of intentional effort. However, the amount of actual effort can range anywhere between 0 minutes and 120 minutes. Of course, it could go above 120 minutes, but this is less likely as Pete is somewhat of a “do what’s necessary kind of guy.”

Peter creates a simple chart to measure how many minutes he does each week. When this number is below 120 minutes, there is a space for him to put why he fell short. Below are three hypothetical entries – can you identify which (if any) are excuses?

Are These Excuses?

~ The practice pitching green was shut for some kids’ lessons on Wednesday evening, so I could not do my standard drills when I arrived. So, I went to the range instead and fell 40 minutes short of my short game practice this week.

~ I just experienced a considerable dip in motivation for my overall Golf, not just my short game. I played poorly on the weekend, so the idea of investing even more time into a pursuit that is so inconsistent seems ridiculous. Maybe a couple of weeks off is what is needed. I got 0 minutes done this week, 120 minutes less than my commitment.

~ Blast, I picked up a slight shoulder niggle whilst playing touch footy with the guys on Monday night. The physiotherapist instructed me to practice at least 20 minutes during every session (half my usual amount). I didn’t quite manage to double the number of sessions to get to the 120 minutes, so I managed 100 minutes this week instead of 120.

Instead of sharing my insights about which of the above contains more legitimacy than others, it might be more attractive to ask our loyal readers. Please add your comments in the space at the bottom of this article, and I will endeavour to reply to every one of them as they come through. Which of the above (if any) do you believe is an excuse and why?

The Mind Is Not So Different From The Body

Both benefit from some very similar rules. One commonality between the parts above and below the neck is that they both require repetition for changes to become permanent.

This simple monitoring process described above is the most effective method I have ever encountered during my 20 years as an applied sport psychologist in assisting future thoughts to become less burdensome. Let me reiterate something fundamental here to prevent the flurry of comments about me contradicting my preference for psychological flexibility while wanting my clients to have more beneficial future thoughts. Because they are future thoughts (yet to happen) and are potentially influenced by present actions, there is no risk of what we call meta-cognition “distracting” the performer during the present moment.

Ideally, weekly reflections on why an athlete or performer fell short build greater awareness of how they can creatively work towards greater consistency of practice in the future. Maybe the very simple little internal dialogue is something like this.

“It’s gonna be hard for me to practice this week due to the weather. What can I do instead of letting these adverse weather conditions reduce our intended practice? Maybe I could do something inside or practice in the rain, knowing my skin is waterproof. Better still, maybe this poor weather practice will help me when I have to compete in similarly adverse climatic conditions.”

Accepting Thoughts, Especially The Crappy Ones, Is Hard.

So, we’re looking to reduce the workload required for methods such as mindfulness. Developing great psychological flexibility is fantastic and will serve you very well in the future. Still, it is not a magic bullet that makes all future endeavours bulletproof against all challenges.

At the beginning of the article, I clarified that dialogue related to why we don’t manage to do what we intended to do is not the same as when we say this to another individual. What does this second version most commonly look like?

In a sporting context, it is probably most common in elite developmental sports programs. Imagine a softball team with athletes aged between 14 and 17. The coach helps the squad design a combination of group-based practice and tasks that the players must do independently.

A simple self-monitoring system allows the Coach to see which athletes are doing the individualised practice. For the players who don’t enter this data or enter numbers far less than what was agreed upon, conversations can occur about why.

Why would an athlete use an excuse verbally when, in their mind, they know it’s far from a legitimate reason? There are potentially many reasons, but the most common is a lack of sound team dynamics, as described in these past articles here and here.

If you are a sporting or non-sporting performer and would like some professional help with making fewer excuses, then contact us now via this Enquiry Form. One of our team will get back to you within a couple of days.