During the 1992 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan hit seven threes in a row against the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 35 points in the first half alone. By his seventh shot, he could only shrug, a performance so far above expectations that even Jordan seemed stunned by it (Bell, n.d.). Sport psychologists call this a flow state. Most athletes just call it being in the zone.

In 2015, 18-year-old Katie Ledecky broke her own world record in the 1500-meter freestyle at the World Championships in Russia. Afterward, she casually described the race: “To be honest, it felt pretty easy. I was so relaxed” (Duckworth, 2016). That’s what flow state looks like. As Duckworth (2016) put it, “Flow is performing at high levels of challenge and yet feeling ‘effortless,’ like ‘you don’t have to think about it, you’re just doing it.'”

Bill Russell, who won eleven NBA championships with the Celtics, described that same feeling in his memoir: “Almost as if we were playing in slow motion. During those spells I could almost sense how the next play would develop and where the next shot would be taken.”

Csíkszentmihályi (1990) first described the flow state as one where the internal chatter goes quiet, movement feels effortless, and time seems to bend. It’s the experience of losing yourself completely in what you’re doing.

“Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one…” Csíkszentmihályi, 1996

One of the biggest misconceptions about flow is that it’s random, a stroke of luck that either shows up or doesn’t. In reality, flow has conditions. You can build the circumstances that make it more likely to happen, even if you can’t force it directly.

It’s also easy to read stories about Jordan, Ledecky, and Russell and conclude that a flow state only happens to Olympians or superstars. That’s not true. You don’t need to be an expert in your craft to experience flow. Csíkszentmihályi (1990) found the experience is universal across ages and experience levels. It shows up in sport, music, gaming and gardening.

Understanding the science behind flow, and what makes it more likely, gives you something to train for, not just hope for.

The Nine Characteristics of a Flow State

Flow researchers break the experience down into nine core characteristics: three that set up the conditions for flow, and six that describe what it feels like once you’re in it (van der Linden, Tops, & Bakker, 2021; Jackson & Csíkszentmihályi, 1999). You don’t need all nine present at once to be in flow, but the more that show up together, the deeper the state tends to feel.

What sets up the conditions:

1. A balance between challenge and skill. You’ve evenly matched.
2. Clear goals. You know exactly what you’re aiming for.
3. Immediate feedback. You instantly know whether what you just did worked.

What flow feels like:

4. Total concentration on the task. You are entirely focused on the moment.
5. Actions and awareness merge. You stop judging your performance and just play.
6. A feeling of control. Not control over the outcome, which you can never fully control, but a sense of control over your own ability and performance.
7. Loss of self-conscious rumination. Your self-doubt dissolves away.
8. A transformation of time. Time either speeds up or slows way down, the way Bill Russell described above.
9. The experience is intrinsically rewarding. You’re doing it because it feels good to do, not for the outcome attached to it. In otherwords, it feels good and you enjoy it.

The Flow Channel

Sport psychologists often picture flow as a channel running between two extremes, based on the relationship between the challenge in front of you and your skill level to meet it.

Anxiety. When the challenge outweighs your skill, you tighten up. Your thoughts race ahead to the outcome, your body stays tense, and you play defensively and tentatively instead of aggressively.

Boredom. When your skill outweighs the challenge, your attention drifts. Without enough to engage you, your mind wanders off the task in front of you. You lose focus and motivation wanes.

Flow. When challenge and skill are in balance, something shifts. Action and awareness merge. You stop thinking about what you’re doing and simply do it (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999).

It is not a realistic goal to eliminate anxiety or boredom from competition entirely. The goal is to increase awareness of which side of the channel you’re on and adjust: raise the challenge when you’re bored, or narrow your focus when you’re anxious.

What Makes an Environment That Supports a Flow State

Flow doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are specific conditions make it far more likely occur (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999):

Clear and specific goals. Vague goals like “play well” give your mind nothing concrete to lock onto. Flow depends on knowing exactly what you’re trying to do in this specific moment, this next play, this race. Specificity matters.

Immediate feedback. You need to know, in real time, whether what you’re doing is working. That might be as simple as watching the ball land where you want it to, or being mindful of your split times as you race.

A challenge that matches your skill. Not too hard, not too easy. You need to be pushed, but not beyond your capabilities. This is the same balance that defines the flow channel above.

A sense of control. Athletes drop into a flow state more easily when they trust their preparation and feel in control of their performance.

Feeling safe. Athletes who are worried about being watched, judged, or criticized, whether by a coach, a crowd, or their teammates, have a much harder time letting go enough to find flow. You need to believe that you belong.

Coaches and teams should strive to build team environments that support all five of these conditions.

Obstacles to Acheiving a Flow State

Just as certain conditions invite flow, there are also predictable patterns that block it.

Overthinking. The moment you start judging your own performance in your head, overanalyzing your form, or beating yourself up over the last mistake, you pull yourself out of the moment.

Outcome focus. Thinking about whether you’ll win or lose, will look shifts your attention away from the task directly in front of you and onto something you can’t control in the moment.

Fear of judgment. Worrying about how you’re perceived by your coaches and teammates, whether you look confident enough, aggressive enough, or “team oriented” enough, pulls attention inward in exactly the way flow requires you to let go of.

External distraction. Ruminating on your personal statistics, your playing time, sideline noise, and past conversations all compete for the same attention that flow depends on. They are all threats to your attention.

Physical or mental fatigue. It’s hard to lose yourself in a task when your body is depleted or your mind is already exhausted from poor nutrition, a stressful week, or poor sleep.

Recognizing which of these tends to show up for you the most is often the first step toward managing it.

How to Train for Flow

You can’t force flow into existence on command, but you can build the habits that invite it.

1. Set SMART goals you can actually track and obtain. Pick one or two specific, observable targets for a specific competition or performance.
2. Build a short, consistent routine before you compete. A pre game ritual signals to your brain that it’s time to narrow focus and readiness your body for peak performance.
3. Quiet your inner critic during competition. Practice negative thought replacement strategies or mindful awareness in the moment to silence the negative self-talk.
4. Log your flow moments after the fact. So many athletes forget this step. Keep a quick note of games or practices where everything clicked: what led up to it, what you were or weren’t thinking about, what your routine looked like that day. Over time, this becomes a personalized map of the conditions that work for you. You can use this to customize your precompetition routine.

Flow, focus, and confidence are all intertwined with each other. Athletes who trust their preparation, who’ve done the work of building genuine confidence, have an easier time letting go of outcome and dropping into the task in front of them. You can’t think your way into flow and it’s not about luck. You can try to create or re-create the conditions to maximize your chances.

If you’re ready to build a mental training plan that helps you find your zone more consistently, reach out about mental coaching for athletes. I love helping athletes figure out how to reach their potentional and achieve their goals.

Further reading:

• Find Your Zone, Association for Applied Sport Psychology
• Finding Flow: The 9 Dimensions, Dr. Susan Jackson
• Go with the Flow: A Neuroscientific View on Being Fully Engaged, European Journal of Neuroscience
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth (affiliate link)

References

Bell, R. (n.d.). Find your zone. Association for Applied Sport Psychology. https://appliedsportpsych.org/resources/resources-for-athletes/find-your-zone/

Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row.

Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. HarperCollins.

Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner.

Jackson, S. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Flow in Sports: The Keys to Optimal Experiences and Performances. Human Kinetics.

Russell, B., & Branch, T. (1979). Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man. Random House.

Van der Linden, D., Tops, M., & Bakker, A. B. (2021). Go with the flow: A neuroscientific view on being fully engaged. European Journal of Neuroscience. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7983950/

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Superstitions

Superstitions are false beliefs that athletes hold which ultimately have no impact on the outcome (Lodato, 2022). Superstitions are typically created by athletes from happenstance, instilling a belief of “cause and effect” which ultimately has no bearing on the result. Examples of superstitions can include hearing a certain song on the radio prior to competition, wearing a particular color sock, or avoiding stepping on the lines of the court.

Rituals

Rituals are extremely rigid, lack flexibility, and as a result can be counter-productive to the athlete or team (Lodato, 2022). An athlete with strict rituals may find it difficult to play away matches in environments that do not offer their at-home comforts. An example of a ritual in volleyball is a team cheer in between service points regardless of the situation. The insistence on maintaining the cheer between every point may at times increase the players momentum (positive impact) or distract the athletes from strategic conversations about making changes on the court (negative impact).

Routines

Routines are a “sequence of task-relevant thoughts and actions an athlete systematically engages in prior to performance of a self-paced sport skill” such as serving in volleyball (Mesagno & Mullane-Grant, 2010). Routines are repeatable, consistent, comfortable, and purposeful and yet flexible as needed in the face of obstacles based upon the environment or situation (Lodato, 2022).

One of the most effective strategies that an athlete can learn to increase their confidence, improve concentration, and compete consistently is to develop and integrate routines into their preparation and training protocols (Vernacchia, McGuire, & Cook, 1996). Routines have been proven to help athletes achieve a state of performance readiness by increasing feelings of self-efficacy, or a sense of control, in pressure situations (Hazell, Cotterill, & Hill, 2014).

Pre-Performance Routines

Routines can be broken down into three distinct categories, pre-performance routines (PPRs), in-performance routines, and post-performance routines.  Pre-performance, also referred to as pre-competition routines, are actions taken prior to the start of competition to prepare the athlete for psychological readiness for competition. Pre-performance routines should prepare the athlete to expect and overcome adversity in competition, whether it be distributions to their warm-up, weather delays, hostile fans, or negative internal dialogue.

In-Performance Routines

In-performance routines are actions that an athlete does while competing either in-between plays or during timeouts. Athletes should ideally execute during-performance routines during short breaks in competition and before they perform specific skills such as a free-throw in basketball or a serve in tennis or volleyball. During competition athletes have severely limited time, therefore during-competition routines need to happen quickly and effectively. Recalling the athlete’s belief cue, or focus cue, is an example of during-competition routine.

Post-Performance Routines

Post-performance, or post-competition, routines take place after the competition has finished either in the locker-room, on the bus, or at home when the athlete has time to reflect alone. During a post-performance routine, the athlete should attempt to learn lessons from the recent competition (Orlick, 2016). Reflecting upon key plays, player matchups, decision making, connection with teammates, and the effectiveness of game strategies are examples of factors that athletes should consider focusing on during their post-performance routines.

Here’s a free downloadable worksheet to develop competition routines. For more information to distinguish the the difference between superstition, rituals and routines, and ideas on how to integrate routines to improve performance on the road, check out my article on using routines to prepare for competition on the road. Developing systematic competition routines is a primary focus of mental coaching for athletes.

References

Xygalatas, Dimitris (2022, September 14) The Real Magic of Rituals. https://nautil.us/the-real-magic-of-rituals-238960/

Lodato, Vincent A. (2022). Being Prepared: Routines for Readiness [PowerPoint Slides]. Canvas@UWS. https://canvas.uws.edu/courses/2345/assignments/29357?module_item_id=206390

Burton, Damon & Raedeke, Thomas, D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. Human Kinetics.

Stewart Cotterill, Neil Weston, & Gavin Breslin. (2017). Sport and Exercise Psychology: Practitioner Case Studies. Wiley-Blackwell.

Hazell, J., Cotterill, S. T., & Hill, D. M. (2014) An exploration of pre-performance routines, self-efficacy, anxiety and performance in semi-professional soccer, European Journal of Sport Science, 14:6, 603-610, DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2014.888484

McCann, Sean. (2009) Routines, rituals, and performing under pressure, Soccer Journal, 40-43.

Mesagno, C., & Mullane-Grant, T. (2010). A Comparison of Different Pre-Performance Routines as Possible Choking Interventions. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 22(3), 343–360.

Orlick, T. (2016). In Pursuit of Excellence: How to win in sport and life through mental training. (Fifth Edition). Human Kinetics.

Vernacchia, Ralph, McGuire, Rick, & Cook, David. (1996) Coaching Mental Excellence. Warde Publishers, Inc.

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One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence in sports is that most athletes and coaches think confidence is simply the belief in one’s ability to win or succeed. That definition is too narrow and often leads to a simplified “yes or no”, “you either have it or you don’t” type of thinking, when the reality is that confidence is actually far more complex.

Most athletes experience a spectrum of confidence levels that fluctuate throughout the season based on internal and external factors. When I teach athletes and coaches about confidence, I encourage them to think about this broader concept: a continuum centered on optimal confidence, with underconfidence on one end and overconfidence on the other.

Underconfidence

Underconfidence, also known as low confidence, is marked by an underestimation of one’s ability to perform (APA). Underconfident athletes tend to under estimate their skill level and potential. They’re often overcome with self-doubt and have difficulty recovering from mistakes during practice or competition. They also tend to be underprepared, both physically and mentally, and highly sensitive to feedback from coaches which creates a self-fulfilling prophecy of failing in pressure situations.

Overconfidence

Overconfident athletes believe they are better than their game statistics suggest and carry an inflated sense of their performance history. They also tend to lack physical and mental preparation, and often respond to pressure situations by trying to over perform or hoard the ball. In many cases, overconfident athletes have a history of being pampered by parents, guardians or past coaches.

Optimal Confidence

Athletes with optimal confidence are prepared for pressure situations, both physically and mentally. They set realistic, attainable individual and team goals, and they approach competition with a clear game strategy.

Now that we’ve reframed confidence as a spectrum, how do we help athletes find their way into the zone of optimal confidence?

According to Bandura, high levels of self-efficacy contribute to better performances, or “mastery experiences.” Athletes who receive feedback and assurance that their goals are attainable tend to increase their motivation and effort until they achieve the success they’re after. Here are four strategies I use in mental coaching for athletes to help build confidence in sports before competition, along with free confidence-building worksheets you can use to work through them. I recommend athletes set aside quiet reflection time for each of the four categories: performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and arousal control (emotion regulation).

1. Past Performance Accomplishments & Experience

According to Bandura’s Theory (1997), the strongest predictor of self-efficacy is the athletes’ previous successful experiences (Williams & Krane, 2015). Taking a moment to reflect on all your past accomplishments in your sport, from the beginning of your career through to today, is one of the most effective ways to build your confidence in sports. Bring to mind a mental highlight reel of yourself playing your absolute best: maybe memories of playing in a flow state, big plays you made in critical moments under pressure, or an opponent you shut down. You can also create an actual highlight reel of video footage from your matches to watch before competition or during breaks. Imagery is a highly effective sport psychology strategy for building confidence in sports.

2. Vicarious Experience

You can also build confidence through vicarious experience: identifying a role model or expert in your sport and learning by watching and modeling their approach (Williams & Krane, 2015). This might mean watching college-level or professional competitions. The FIFA World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics are great opportunies to find and learn from a new role model in your sport.

3. Verbal Persuasion

Verbal persuasion is another effective sport psychology technique for building confidence athlete confidence in sports: it’s the positive feedback you’ve received from the people in your life life, most importantly your teammates and coaches. Spend some time reflecting on positive feedback, affirmations, and compliments you’ve received from them, and trust that they mean it. You may also find it helpful to reflect on what it felt like when your coaches recruited you and remind yourself that you were chosen to play for your team because they believed in your ability, talent, and potential.

4. Arousal Control (aka Emotion Regulation)

Arousal control, or the process of recognizing and managing ones optimal arousal state during competition, can also function to increase self-efficacy in athletes (Williams & Krane, 2015). Think about what it feels like when you first start to feel the pressure of a big game, meet, or competition. What does it feel like in your body? Do your muscles feel tight or heavy? Do you feel tension in your jaw, neck, chest or stomach? Picture that tension: what color is it? What is the texture? Next envision the tension leaving your body. Some athletes find it helpful to picture tension existing their body through an exhale of breath. Notice that you are not your anxiety, your worry, or your stress. That tension is separate from you. Externalize it. Let it go. Picture it leaving your body and notice a quiet sense of calm that follows. Learning to regulate your emotions to reach an optimal performance state is one of the most effective sport psychology techniques for increasing confidence in sports.

Ready to put these strategies into practice? Download the free confidence-building worksheets and start working through each category this week.

References

Bandura, Albert. (1990) Perceived self-efficacy in the exercise of personal agency, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2:2, 128-163, DOI: 10.1080/10413209008406426 

Bandura, A., & Cervone, D. (1983) Self-evaluative and self-efficacy mechanisms governing the motivation effects of goal systems. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 1017-1028.

Burton, Damon & Raedeke, Thomas, D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. Human Kinetics.

Hays, K., Thomas, O., Maynard, I., & Bawden, M. (2009). The role of confidence in world-class sport performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(11), 1185–1199.

Williams, J. M. & Krane, Vikki (2015). Applied sport psychology: personal growth to peak performance. Seventh edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/applied-sport-psychology-personal-growth-peak-performance-williams-krane/M9780078022708.html

Vealey, R. S., Hayashi, S. W., Garner-Holman, M., & Giacobbi, P. (1998). Sources of sport confidence: Conceptualization and instrument development. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 20(1), 54.

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Whenever you do imagery it’s important that you are clear on the purpose of the exercise. A survey among teams at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs found that 90% of Olympic athletes use some form of visualization or imagery in their sport.  80% used it to prepare for competition, 48% used it to correct technical errors, 44% used it to learn a new technique or skill and 40% used it for relaxation.

Benefits of Imagery include:

• increased confidence in sport;
• increased concentration in sport;
• arousal control during pressure situations;
• preparedness for specific competition scenarios and matchups;
• extra mental repetitions using perfect technique;
• and error correction.

This is also a great tool for athletes to use when you’re injured. Injured athletes can use imagery while they are sidelined to picture past performances and imagine future performances. Injured athletes can also use imagery to envision their body healing itself and becoming stronger.

Imagery Script

An imagery script is the story you tell yourself when you’re mentally rehearsing. Writing your own, personalized imagery script to prepare for high pressure competition can be extremely powerful. Here’s a customized imagery script for volleyball players that you can modify and make your own. However, first I want to talk to the difference between an internal and external imagery perspective.

Internal vs External Imagery Perspectives

In an internal imagery perspective, you see the action as it would unfold through your own eyes as if you were playing on the court. In contrast, in an external perspective, you view the action from outside of your body as if you were watching yourself perform on tape. There is no right or wrong way to engage in imagery. The goal is to get clearest image of yourself possible, therefore you should use whichever form of imagery (external or internal) that provides you the clearest image.

A Few Final Tips

The use of imagery is different than visualization because visualization only uses the athlete’s sense of vision, while imagery applies multiple senses such as auditory and tactile sensory information. While practicing imagery, it is most effective if you engage as many senses as possible. Ask yourself questions such as: What will it feel like in my body? What will it sound like? What will look like? What will it taste like? What will it smell like?

If at any point while practicing imagery or guided visualization exercises you notice yourself distracted by thoughts that derail you from the intended purpose, don’t beat yourself up.  Just recognize your thoughts and redirect your attention to the visualization.

Resource

Sample Imagery Script

Reference

Burton, Damon & Raedeke, Thomas, D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. Human Kinetics.

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One of the most effective mental performance strategies to help athletes adjust to discomfort and dysregulation that comes with playing away is for athletes to develop a pre-competition routine. A pre-competition routine or systematic ritual serves to increase athlete confidence and improve concentration (Vernacchia, McGuire, & Cook, 1996). To mentally prepare athletes for away competition, it can also be helpful to ask questions such as: What do you miss the most when you are competing away from home (Gardner & Moore, 2004)?

Traveling to compete in environments that athletes are unfamiliar with and have not had the opportunity to train or familiarize themselves with extensively is an integral part of competition in sports. The “home court advantage” offers athletes access to familiar training and competition facilities, pre-game meals, more sleep (depending on the time zone differential of the competition site) and typically increased spectator support. Away games and travel tournaments require traveling outside of an athlete’s comfort zone causing disruption to conscious and unconscious competition routines. The result of these unavoidable travel disruptions often result in disrupted pre-game routines, decreased warm-up times, and competition jitters, all of which ultimately reduce an athlete’s ability to perform optimally.

To combat these distractions and disruption to competition preparation, it is highly recommended that athletes engage pre-competition routines when traveling to compete. Sport specific mindfulness strategies can include controlled breathing techniques, mindfulness of nonathletic task execution, body-scanning, mindful pre-performance stretching, and mindful sport related warm-up drills (Gardner & Moore, 2004).

Other pre-competition routines can be a simple as traveling with your favorite pillow or blanket, consistent pre-game snacks and meals, or warm-up music that you know and love. All the above-mentioned strategies can be executed on the road in nearly any environment that an athlete can expect to play.

I would love to get more ideas on how to help athletes adjust and mentally prepare while playing on the road. What strategies and techniques do you use to help athletes cope with the discomfort of travel and playing away?

How to Use Routines to Mentally Prepare for Competition

Want to learn more about how to use routines to mentally prepare for competition? Check out these two videos from Dr. Kenneth Ravizza, Ph.D – an internationally acclaimed sport psychology consultant and the greatest mental coach for athletes of all time (in my opnion).

The Research

Based upon previous research studies including Gardner and Moore (2004), Lutkenhouse (2007), Wolanin (2005), Hasker (2010), and Schwanhausser (2009), there exists substantial empirical research evidence that mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions improve athlete performance (Gardner & Moore, 2004). The research study performed by Wolanin (2005) indicated a 37% increase athlete performance based upon coach ratings (Gardner & Moore, 2012). The 2007 research study conducted by Lutkenhouse, Gardner, and Moore resulted in a 20% athlete performance improved of at least 32% of the athletes (Gardner & Moore, 2012). And the research study by Schwanhausser (2009) produced findings of increased athlete mindful awareness, attention, flow and competitive drive among athletes (Gardner & Moore, 2012). In addition to improved performance results in athletes, research studies also indicated that mindfulness reduces anxiety and worry (Roemer & Orsillo, 2002), decreases levels of verbal-linguistic activity in the left-hemisphere of the brain (Crews & Landers, 1993), and increased self-awareness (Roemer & Orsillo, 2002), reduces depression (Hoffmann, Sawyer, Witt, & Oh, 2020), enhances well-being (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009).

References

Burton, Damon & Raedeke, Thomas, D. (2008). Sport Psychology for Coaches. Human Kinetics.

Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2004). A Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment-Based Approach to Athletic Performance Enhancement: Theoretical Considerations. Behavior Therapy, 35(4), 707–723.

Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2012). Mindfulness and acceptance models in sport psychology: A decade of basic and applied scientific advancements. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 53(4), 309–318. https://doi-org.uws.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/a0030220

Stewart Cotterill, Neil Weston, & Gavin Breslin. (2017). Sport and Exercise Psychology: Practitioner Case Studies. Wiley-Blackwell.

Vernacchia, Ralph, McGuire, Rick, & Cook, David. (1996) Coaching Mental Excellence. Warde Publishers, Inc.

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Athletes and coaches alike experience a fight-or-flight response when their sympathetic nervous system is activated. Physical symptoms of stress can include increased heart rate, stomach nausea, shortness of breath, muscle tension, and unwanted arousal. There are evidence-based muscle-to-mind techniques that you can use to help athletes reduce their levels of performance anxiety and stress.

For starters, it can be helpful to break down the techniques into two distinct categories: muscle-to-mind techniques and mind-to-muscle techniques. Muscle-to-mind relaxation techniques focus on relaxing the body as a means to calming down the mind. Examples of muscle-to-mind techniques include diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). On the other contrary, mind-to-muscle techniques such as meditation and imagery, start with calming the mind as a way to relax the body. As a mental coach for athletes, I recommend integrating both types of techniques to improve emotion regulation and manage athletes stress.

There’s a ton of websites and apps boasting about strategies to de-stress however, before implementing any relaxation technique in practice or competition, it’s critical to understand the difference between total relaxation and rapid relaxation techniques. The goal of total relaxation is to help athletes completely relax by achieving maximal relaxation, while the goal of rapid relaxation is to reduce stress quickly without depleting one’s energy level (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

The process for total relaxation typically between 10 and 20 minutes and can help athletes reduce chronic stress and anxiety (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Total relaxation techniques are ideally performed after practice or competition to help them recover from intense workouts or just before going to bed to improve sleep. Total relaxation techniques should not be done prior to workouts because they leave players feeling lethargic, sluggish, and passive (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).The benefits of total relaxation techniques include chronic stress reduction, promotion of recovery from workouts, improved sleep, and the development of relaxation skills (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

On the other hand, rapid relaxation is ideal for athletes and coaches to do prior or during practice and competition for example – during a time-out. Rapid relaxation can be done in any environment in a matter of 3 to 5 seconds and the benefits of rapid relaxation include reduction in muscle tension, arousal control, disruption of the stress spiral, energy conservation, and ultimately increasing athlete enjoyment in sport (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

One effective muscle-to-mind total relaxation strategy that coaches can teach players to use is called progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). The premises of PMR is to flex individual muscle groups and then passively releasing the muscle group to promote deep muscle relaxation (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). When flexing one’s muscles, the tension should gradually build-up for 5 to 7 seconds and then released abruptly. After releasing the muscle, the athlete should direct their attention towards relaxing that specific muscle group for a minimum of 20 seconds and up to 1 minute (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). The athlete can continue this process of targeted muscle tension, followed by focused muscle relaxation for muscle groups (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

Cued relaxation is an example of a rapid relaxation technique that can be used before or during competition (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). In cued relaxation, the goal is for athletes to identify a cue word that triggers the desired relaxation response (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Cued relaxation should be paired with a total relaxation technique such as PMR. Once the athlete gets comfortable achieving a relaxation level of 8 or more on a 10-point scale with 10 being completely relaxed, they should start to repeat their cue word in their mind at each exhalation for 15 or more repetitions. With practice, eventually the athletes will be able to stimulate the relax response within 3 to 4 seconds by combining their cue word with 1 or 2 diaphragmic breaths.

Sometimes athletes need to be fired up and energized, rather than relaxed before competition. The term energization is the opposite of relaxation, it involves intentionally speeding up one’s heart rate to increase blood flow to muscles and stimulate brain activity (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). Energization can help athletes improve concentration, increase their energy level, motivation, and confidence level (Burton & Raedeke, 2008). One example of an energization strategy that athletes can use prior to or during competition is a technique called psych-up breathing. In psych-up breathing, the athlete is instructed to take quick and shallow consecutive breaths to inhale as much as oxygen as possible in a short period of time. During psych-up breathing, the breaths are shallower and taken in with the lungs as opposed to the diaphragm (Burton & Raedeke, 2008).

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One of my favorite quotes about MJ, is from the documentary The Last Dance, in which Mark Vancil, the editor of Rare Air, describes Michael Jordan’s mind… “Michael is a mystic. He was never anywhere else. His gift wasn’t that he could jump high, run fast, shoot a basketball. His gift was that he was completely present.”

So, how did Michael do it? And how can you can learn to block out distractions and focus completely on the present moment? To answer these questions, I want to first define the term Mindful Awareness.

What is Mindful Awareness?

My favorite definition of mindful awareness or mindfulness was coined by Jon Kabat Zinn. Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally.

In other words, mindfulness is the practice of turning attention towards oneself in the present moment and away from the everyday stresses and distractions of the world. Mindful meditation has his roots from ancient Buddhist meditation techniques and there are many contemplative practices that explore the concept of consciousness through meditation. However, today the practice of mindfulness has become a common practice among elite athletes.

The members of the US women’s soccer team practiced mindfulness in preparation for winning 2019 World Cup Championship. Misty May & Carrie Walsh won 3 Olympic gold medals in beach volleyball for the United States. They are widely known for practicing mindfulness throughout their Olympic Career. And many professional surfers have a mindfulness meditation practice.  In fact, mindfulness and surfing go hand in hand as Kelly Slater is famously quoted for saying, “It’s all about where your mind’s at.”

So why do all these pro athletes practice mindfulness?

There’s lots of benefits to mindfulness awareness:

• Reduction in stress levels and anxiety
• Improved mental & emotional wellbeing
• Mood regulation
• Better access to your intuition
• A higher level of empathy
• A stronger connection to your team, community, and environment

The list goes on and on. There are many compelling reasons to adopt a mindfulness awareness practice as athlete. And now I am going to give you a tool to help you do that.

As athletes and coaches, the practice of mindfulness often takes a backseat to physical endurance and technical training. As a result, athletes don’t often experience separation between the mind’s activities and awareness of thoughts.

For example, as an athlete, if you make a mistake in competition, you might act out on your impulses of frustration without even being aware of your actions. Or your mind might wonder-off during a time-out or a break in the action and get lost in a memory. Those blips in awareness during competition can cost points and even championships.

However, when athletes operate in a state of mindful awareness you become aware that you are more than just the activities in your mind. You understand that there is a space between stimulus and response that you can exist in. And in that space, you have the power to choose your response.

Learning to develop a practice of mindful awareness will help athletes reach their optimal potential under pressure in competition. Remember being in the flow and competing at your optimal potential is all about where your mind’s at.

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A few decades later the University of Chicago psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the term “flow” to describe this state of optimal performance and intense focus in the present moment.  NBA basketball player and coach Bill Russell of the Celtics describes the zone as, “as if we were playing in slow motion. During those spells I could almost sense how the next play would develop and where the next shot would be taken.”

Peak performance , flow and playing in the zone all describe a state of mind with a heightened state of consciousness that enables athletes to play at their optimal level.  Many elite athletes who have won national championships and Olympic medals attribute their enhanced performance under extreme pressure to being in a state of flow or playing in the zone.

Athletes can spend their entire careers trying to achieve a state of Flow. However flow can feel very illusive because it’s so difficult to access. As a result, there’s a lot of misinformation flouting around about it. Here’s 3 myths about the state of flow that you should know:

Myth # 1 : Flow only happens to Olympians or superstars. You don’t need to be an expert in your sport or craft to experience flow. The experience is universal across levels, ages, genders, and cultures.

Myth # 2: Flow is always a good thing. This is not always true.  There are dangers to operating in a state of flow.  First off, when you’re in a state of flow you can lose touch with the condition of your body.  For example, for me, because I’m a writer, this happens when I get on a roll writing. I can write for hours and not realize that I’ve skipped lunch until I have a headache. 

Another way flow is not always a good thing is that the feeling or high can become addicting. (Note that I do not use the term addiction lightly here. Addiction takes many forms and I want to honor and respect those of us who have experienced it.) The “runners high” you get from flow can become addicting in a real way that can have real significant consequences to your health.  While it may be unlikely that you become addicted to volleyball, it is not uncommon to become addicted to the endorphins and feeling you get from working out so I feel like it’s important to name that so you’re all aware of it.  I talk more about that in the Module 6 covering Self-Care. But despite the downsides to flow, it is generally something that you want to strive for. I just want to point out that flow is a very powerful force.

Myth # 3 : Flow only happens to individuals. Also false, the connection between your teammates matters and can make a big impact on your mental state.  Often times when in a focused state of mind, flow can occur among teams, a contagious attitude of invincibility, sensing and feeling as one as if they share one heartbeat.  In this state of collective flow, the potential of each individual is much higher because of what you can achieve together.  That collective state of flow among your entire team is what we’re after!

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