Day 4 of Mental Excellence – Mental Readiness
A link to the complete 7-day series on mental excellence is here …
Mental Excellence 101: Develop the Mental Skills of Elite Performers
Terry’s Orlick’s wheel of excellence identifies mental readiness as a key aspect of mental excellence. So what is mental readiness and how does it relate to excellence?
Mental readiness refers to being able to create a psychological state in which you are either ready to learn from the situation you are in, or you can perform at your optimum and put your knowledge and expertise into practice.
As a sportsperson, mental readiness is being able to put all your technical, mental and physical training into practice at your chosen event. In a work situation, this may mean being able to perform at your best whilst giving a sales presentation or at an important interview.
So, what else can you do to maximise your mental readiness for your next big event, to give yourself the best chance of performing at your optimum?
Consider the following tips:
- Take some time to really focus on what you want to have happen as part of the event? Try to use language that is phrased in a positive way … “I would like to achieve/attain/deliver” etc., rather than “I want to avoid or stop” something.
- Clearly identify what you need to know in terms of knowledge or technical skills. What extra bit of knowledge or technical skill would really make the difference to your performance in this event?
- Plan how you will develop the necessary skills or knowledge. What will *you* do to ensure this happens? What might others do to help you develop the necessary skills and knowledge? What resources are available to you that might help you develop these skills or knowledge.
- Commit quality time and energy to developing and practicing the skills or knowledge. How motivated are you to do this? What action do you need to take to make this happen?
- Practice and refine the newly acquired skills. How will you know when you’ve achieved the skills and knowledge you need?
- Plan meticulously for your big event. Take time to think through the entire event, making sure that you have explored each step of the event as thoroughly as you need to.
The last tip may seem obvious but elite performers tend to be elite planners in that they focus on ‘controlling the controllables’. This means that they plan and prepare for everything that is within their control and as we mentioned yesterday maximizing a sense of control reduces stress levels. As the proverb says “Failing to plan is planning to fail”.
Over the next few days we will be looking at other mental skills that will enhance your mental readiness. For example, your ability to fully focus and manage distraction will enable you to be mentally prepared for your big event and stay focused throughout to ensure that you are performing at your best.
Tags: commitment, control, focus, mental readiness, planning, practice
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