“How do I stop hesitating?” It’s one of the more common questions we get asked as Sport and Performance Psychologists. Hesitation is a common mental block experienced by athletes across all sports and can be the difference between making it and not.
Why Do We Hesitate?
Hesitation is a growing topic of conversation in the world of performance psychology. In the many conversations I’ve had with athletes on the subject, it all seems to boil down to one thing: unrealistic expectations. The advancement of sport science in recent decades has allowed us to perform to levels we never thought possible. Coincidentally, expectations have increased as well.
We’re expected to start younger, train more, and train for longer. And because of this, we hope to see results quicker. Unfortunately, progress will never be linear, no matter how much science underpins it. Now, more than ever, we underestimate how long it takes to see improvement.
The Impact of Social Media
Social media hasn’t helped in this regard. In fact, it has skewed our perception of good performance looks like. We’re living in a highlight culture. Many of us opt to watch highlights over matches from start to end. This is often due to time constraints, but also because we’re more interested in watching the ‘good parts’.
The problem with this is that we’re only exposed to the most special moments of a performance, such as a goal being scored in soccer. But we don’t see the other 89 minutes on either side of this, during which athletes worked to set this moment up, made mistakes, and were forced to problem-solve.
Due to the rising popularity of platforms like TikTok, we’re constantly exposed to once-in-a-career moments. With enough exposure, we eventually perceive this as normal or ‘the standard’ when, in reality, it’s not. This is an especially tough challenge for young athletes who have grown up in the tech age.
Professional Statistics
So, what does elite performance look like in reality? Simply put, elite athletes mess up more than we think they do. Have you ever Googled who makes the top 10 most missed baskets in the NBA of all time? If you do, you’ll notice that many of the names on that list also make the list for the top 10 scorers of all time.
You will also see more interesting data if you search the UFC record book. For example, current middleweight fighters ranked in the top 10 for striking accuracy are between 55% and 62.5% accurate. Takedown accuracy is even less, with the top 10 athletes in the same division being between 40% and 54.5% accurate.
Essentially, almost one in every two attempts fails. Yet, these are the best of the best.
If the above data hasn’t given you insight into how imperfect elite athletes are, then hopefully, Roger Federer can convince you.
Federer won 80% of his singles matches in his career but only 54% of the points. To break that down, he’s lost hundreds of matches (approximately 300) and only won roughly 1 in every 2 points. So, is being the best really about chasing perfection, or does it perhaps have something to do with the acceptance of imperfection? And sticking to the process!
Mistakes vs Occurrences
To perform freely, we need to redefine mistakes. At Condor Performance, we have categories for different types of mistakes. The first category is a mistake that is our fault (we call this a ‘mistake’), and the second is a mistake that isn’t our fault (we call this an ‘occurrence’).
Mistakes are erroneous decisions based on our desire to feel good, comfortable, or safe, but they don’t pay off.
For example, I pass the ball to my teammate because I’m afraid to miss when I have a clear path in front of me to take a shot. If any soccer players are reading this, we’d love to hear some of your examples in the comments section below.
On the other hand, occurrences are times when we did everything to the best of our knowledge, stuck to the process, and made the best possible decision with the information we had available at the time. Still, the payoff wasn’t there on that occasion.
For example, I chose to keep the puck and shoot (ice hockey) because I knew I was in the best position to score, but the goalkeeper had the game of her life and saved it. Think about how many of your mistakes were actually mistakes and how many were occurrences—times when you did everything right, but it just didn’t work. For a whole article on this topic by my colleague Lauren, click here.
Willingness to Make Occurrences … Lots of Them
Understanding professional statistics helps us understand that elite performance isn’t as ‘perfect’ as we sometimes assume it to be. This is essential in helping us set realistic expectations about a good performance. These expectations should allow plenty of occurrences to minimise mistakes as much as possible.
For example, if I’m an amateur MMA fighter and the top 1% of athletes in my sport are landing roughly one in every two strikes they throw, aiming to have a striking accuracy of 80% will only lead to me becoming highly frustrated in the cage when I struggle to achieve this. Not that getting frustrated is a bad thing (if the fighter is psychologically flexible).
A Piece of Advice
Find ways to become more okay with occurrences. If you’re a young athlete, reflect on your long-term goals and clarify how much time you have to achieve them. If you’re a 13-year-old swimmer and your goal is to make the Australian swim team one day, you’ve got anywhere from 5-15 years to accomplish this. Not getting a PB at your next meet is okay, messing up your turn at a vital meet is okay, and slipping on your backstroke start is okay. Why? Because none of these things will significantly impact your long-term goals.
A Final Note on Risk vs Reward
As performers, we’ll always be criticised no matter what. It’ll either be for A) playing it safe and not taking enough chances, or B) taking lots of chances, in which half of those probably won’t pay off. Consider which kind of criticism will take you closer to your goals and commit to it. And as always, if you need professional assistance then get in touch.
