Riding the Waves in Performance
Performance and improvement can sometimes feel like a linear process. You put in the time and effort consistently as a means to get closer to achieving your goals. It can be easy to get caught up demanding greatness from yourself based on the performance you last had.
“Since I was able to bench 185 lbs last time at the gym, I should be able to go for 215 lbs this time around, right?”
Your time and effort training, along with the consistency with which you do it, can sometimes lead you to thinking traps where you start interpreting your last performance as the immediate jumping off point for your next workout or task. However, this dynamic can often hinder, instead of enhance, your performance.
As you train and experience progress, you go through different seasons and chapters within that journey. You make progress more rapidly at certain times and more slowly at others. Although you are often moving in the right direction, it is definitely NOT a straight and even line.
You are not as good or bad as our last game or training session.
You operate within a range of performance.
Your brain is biologically wired to emphasize what happened in the last events because it gives you fresher information to educate your judgment and perception. As athletes, the key is to meet yourself where you are while also creating an impact in each individual moment. You are constantly recalibrating - zooming in and out - to give yourself perspective and direction.
Each chapter will bring its own set of demands and expectations. Check in with yourself and define success for that chapter. Use your past knowledge to create a range for your outcomes. Instead of “I scored 18 points last game so I must score 20 points this game” give a range of “12-25 points.” Think about a “good enough” as the bottom number and an “ideal” as the top number.
When you recognize that you are falling short from your typical performance or where you are aiming that day, take a step back. Redefine your version of success just for that day or workout. Afterwards reflect on areas you can address. Maybe you need more rest, maybe you are stressed or under fueled, or maybe it was just a bad day (those do happen!).
When this happens in training or competition, you can get caught up asking WHY. Change those “Why” questions to “How” and “What” questions. Instead of:
“Why am I not as fast today as I was last time around?
Why am I not able to lift the same weight?
Why am I not beating my marker like in the last game?”
Change them to:
“How can I meet myself where I’m at today?
How can I make this workout worthwhile for me?
What can I do right now that can give me the best chance of success?
How can I interpret a victory from what I’m doing right now?”
Develop the ability to flow with yourself, your training, and your performances. Ride the highs and lows with the grace and understanding that they are happening within a range of performance.
Each workout or game is an opportunity to gain information and insight as to how you can continue supporting yourself in your journey of progress and growth. Meeting yourself where you are is a fantastic tool that can provide you with compassion and direction for where you are standing on the performance range and give you information as to what can be added, changed, or removed from your process.
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