Competing in the Messy Middle
Most of life operates on a continuum.
Hot – Cold Hard – Soft Love – Hate
The same is true in sports. As an athlete, you are constantly pushing back and forth between two extremes:
Strong – Weak Energetic – Relaxed Aggressive – Passive Controlled – Rushed Fast – Slow
It’s easy to find and recognize the extremes. You know it when you see it or experience it. There’s often one side that feels like the “better” option or is seen as more positive within the world of sports. Just go back to that list and you’ll see which ones you gravitate towards to help describe yourself as an athlete.
The reality is that it’s not the extremes, it’s the messy middle. As an athlete, your best performance occurs when you are able to move yourself along the continuum, adjusting to the situations you are facing, so that you stay within the messy middle.
Some situations will call for you to be more aggressive, while others will require you to be more passive or patient. Sometimes you need to work quickly, while others you need to be more strategic and slow in your approach. There’s not a right and wrong. It’s about determining what is right for the situation and effectively getting yourself there.
So how do you keep yourself in that messy middle?
You create mental guardrails.
Identify signs that let you know you are getting a bit too close to the extreme. How would you know that you are a bit too energized or too relaxed? What about too aggressive or too passive? After you have clear signs that you can look for in competition, you want to ensure you have a tactic to move you away from the unhelpful extreme and more towards the helpful extreme, all while keeping yourself in the messy middle.
Being in the messy middle is a challenge. There’s not a specific point of perfection within the middle. This is often why we find ourselves in the extremes, because it’s clearer and much easier. BUT it’s not very effective. Being in the middle is where the great performances occur. Improve your ability to keep yourself in that messy middle and you improve your performance.
Need strategies to help you stay in the messy middle? Want help creating your own custom mental guardrails?