Chapter 10 - The Power of Concentration ___________________________________________________________
Mono-ideaism ___________________________________________________
In 1983, conductor Carlos Kleiber was conducting Strauss‟s Der Rosenkavalier at La Scala, when all of a sudden, the entire building started shaking and a giant chandelier hanging above Kleiber started vibrating uncontrollably. A major earthquake was in the works. Everyone in the building was frantic…everyone that is, except Kleiber. He was concentrating so intently on the piece of music that he was conducting that he was completely unaware of the earthquake or the disturbance it had caused in the symphony hall. Obviously, Kleiber had achieved an extremely high level of single-mindedness and exclusive concentration and attention. A mind-set that most World Class athletes have achieved, but a skill seldom achieved by athletes of a low classification. Learning to associate would certainly seem easy enough. Just pay attention. Well, that helps, but unfortunately, this is not that easy. Like other skills, there are levels of competence. Paying attention to what you are doing takes understanding and considerable training. As mentioned, the ability to concentrate is a skill, and like any other skill, it can be developed and improved through practice. Basically, there are two ways to increase your concentration. You either learn to become totally focused on relevant stimuli or learn to ignore extraneous and irrelevant stimuli. You must learn the process or selective awareness the skill of selectively paying attention to what is important and ignoring the things that are not. Generally, athletes learn selective awareness by the process of trial and error and it‟s usually learned during competition. Unfortunately, this learning by doing strategy does not always work. As a matter of fact, for many athletes such a strategy can actually teach inappropriate behavior. For instance, if an athlete experiences extreme anxiety and performs poorly during competition, he or she is in reality learning that competition is anxiety provoking and detrimental to performance. In light of the aforementioned, it would seem imperative that an athlete be able to control both internal and external stimuli before entering competition. Fortunately, that is a very real possibility. Contrary to what many athletes and coaches believe, athletes can be systematically trained prior to competition to be independent and totally focused. Here are a few tips to help you link mind and body together: 1. First of all, put forth an effort to eliminate all distractions. It only makes sense that the more extraneous stimuli you have in your environment, the harder it will be to concentrate. Consequently, by eliminating extraneous stimuli, Learn to fuse mind and body into each and you can create an environment every skill you attempt. that is more conducive for focusing on your task. Music, talking, noises, and even people Incredible as it may sound, world at times can become a class marathoners focus on every step distraction. Ideally, it would be of their race. best to eliminate anything and everything that could divert your attention from the task at hand. From strictly a concentration standpoint, it would probably be best to work in a sterile environment. This is virtually impossible, especially if you train in a commercial gym. Remember, your sole purpose is to become “one” with the muscles you‟re working. It is not your intention to become a social animal or an active observer of your training environment. Like I said earlier, perform every act as if nothing else in the world matters. Again, the old Zen principle applies… you put your whole soul and
Chapter 10 - The Power of Concentration ___________________________________________________________
being into every act that you perform. When training, there should be nothing occupying your awareness except the weight and the muscles you are utilizing. The past and the future should have no influence upon what you are trying to achieve. Don't worry about what has transpired or what will transpire, only about what is. Remember you need all of your energies to reach optimum performance. At the ultimate level of association, the distinction between subject and object disappears. Again, you must become “one” with the activity, and the activity must become the MOMENT. 2. In training, learn to fuse mind and body into each and every skill that you attempt. Like Schwarzenegger, get in touch with your muscles. Try to center all of your body's energy into the muscle you are working. Constantly keep your mind in touch with your body. If at times you find your mind wondering, bring it right back to the muscle you‟re training. Try to lock your mind right into your muscle…like Arnold transplanted his mind right into the tissue itself. Once this type of focus is obtained, though, you can become immersed into each event that you encounter. Each moment will be infused with importance and necessity. Mind and body will become one. Once you achieve that type of harmony, you will be perched on the doorway to success. 3. Another helpful suggestion is to learn how to center. As indicated, sports psychologists tell us that it is important for the athlete to “stay in the present.” We can‟t control the future, nor the past, so thinking about these time frames can cause anxiety and stress. Yet, many athletes place themselves in the past by dwelling on what has happened. Others jump to the future to worry about what might occur. Both of these situations can negatively affect performance. Centering helps you “stay in the present” by helping you concentrate on your body and your breathing. This allows you to focus on things other than stress, bad calls, what happened, or what will happen next in the competition. The mere act of thinking about your breathing changes your focus from the negative or anxiety causing event to the present task. This kicks out the negative and helps you regroup your thoughts. 4. How do you Center? I am glad you asked. Focus on breathing a slow, steady stream of air in through your nose. Feel the air enter your lungs and settle into the center of your body. Blow out through your mouth while thinking a key word or phase that helps you to refocus on what you need to be doing. Some athletes choose to think, “What do I need to do now?” Others say, “Center.” Some even close their eyes and envision a successful move. You can develop your own key word or phrase. Just make it one that has meaning to you. Actually, centering can become automatic if you practice it enough. Center yourself after flurries, a break in the action, or a timeout. Teach yourself to use every break to regain focus by centering. Train yourself to control your thinking by using this centering skill as your cue. Invoke that automatic refocus. 5. Once you learn this skill, you will notice a definite change in the thinking patterns you use in your competition. You will spend less time thinking about problems and more time focusing on solutions. You will have less stress, and you will enjoy more success. You make the call. If centering is something that will benefit you in competition, practice it daily until you master the skill. It is a simple and effective way for you to control your performance self-talk and focus. 6. Along these same lines, behavioral changing can also be used. As you will recall, chaining is when you construct a specific behavior and follow that pattern each and every time you perform a particular skill. For instance, if you are a weightlifter, before each lift you might (1) chalk your hands, (2) tighten up your lifting belt, (3) take your position on the lifting platform, (4) take two deep breaths, (5) visualize your lift, (6) take tow more deep breaths, and (7) attempt your lift. Note that each behavior should follow the next without interruption so that you will only have time to focus on the behavior that you are engaging in. By keeping your mind focused, thoughts that might evoke internal distractions such a fear or anxiety are eliminated, and external distractions such as noise are ignored. Of course, once you develop a behavioral pattern, you should use it on every lift whether it‟s in practice, warm-up, or in the actual competition. Each behavior should be designed to cue in the next behavior, bringing about a chain of behaviors that are uninterrupted. By developing a behavioral chain, you will not only increase your ability to focus, but will also be able to reactivate your focus if you lose it.