Emotional intelligence

TEXT: RYAN TEHINI

UNLOCKING A HIGHER LEVEL OF RIDER

If you have read any of my other articles, you will know that I often discuss topics like modulating stress or anxiety, building confidence, preparation, and relaxation. This is because success in a sporting context often depends on how well the sportsperson can regulate their emotions around important events and performances. Often, as athletes mature, they will innately get better at these aspects of competition even if they aren't actively attempting to – this is the result of maturation in their emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is a concept with which I am sure you are somewhat familiar. Often termed EQ, it defines the athlete's ability to recognise and use their internal emotional state to change their intentions and behaviours. Essentially, the core component of emotional intelligence is a three-sided feedback loop, and it looks as follows: • The objective recognition and accurate identification of the different emotional states; • An overall assessment of the effects of this emotional state; and lastly • The ability to select the appropriate emotional state to manage and thrive in a particular situation.

As such, emotionally intelligent people can get themselves into the appropriate emotional state to deal with almost every challenge based on the demands of the situation. If the situation requires high levels of arousal, they are capable of getting themselves psyched up and prepared; if it requires calmness, they are equally as good at relaxing themselves. Research has discovered several aspects of emotional intelligence that can be cultivated and developed over time, making a person more emotionally intelligent. These characteristics, as well as the techniques used to cultivate them, will be discussed below.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS

Recent research has discovered that emotionally intelligent people are significantly more likely to make use of psychological skills – such as visualisation, goal setting,

and positive self-talk. Typically emotionally intelligent people display attributes of mental toughness as a result of this training, and thus it was noted that emotional intelligence could be enhanced through appropriately designed psychological skills training packages. This research provided a clear indication that the most efficient way to enhance overall emotional intelligence in athletes is to engage in psychological skills training.

The relationship between self-talk, emotion and performance is a particularly important one and is necessary not only for you to maximise your potential but also to find genuine happiness in the sport. An excellent way to observe your self-talk is to spend a few days writing down some of the things you hear yourself say in your head at practice. If you notice these are typically negative, begin a process of trying to change this, as the way that you talk to yourself impacts your emotions considerably.

SELF-AWARENESS

The core component of emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and recognise your emotions in order to change them. The purpose of this is that your emotions often interfere with your performance, and if you can identify this and actively change it, you can control your performance. This also assists you in identifying the emotional states of the athletes around you through their non-verbal gestures and body language.

One of the most efficient ways to develop self-awareness in a sporting context is to keep a mental journal of your performances and training, and video your training sessions and shows to watch back later. The key to using this effectively is to link the emotions of the performance to the actual ride when you are watching it back. For example, when watching your ride from a recent show, think back to how you felt in the moment, and watch how you perform, specifically with the intention of identifying the impact of the emotion (positive or negative) on your overall ride.

IDENTIFYING A STRATEGY FOR EMOTIONAL REGULATION

Regulating your emotions is one of the most challenging aspects of developing emotional intelligence. It requires not only the accurate and objective identification of the emotion but also a system that is personalised and works for you in shifting your emotion to a more desired one. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to regulate your emotional

OUR EXPERT

Ryan Tehini (BA, BSocSci (Hons) Psych, MA Research Psychology (cum laude)(UP)). For Psychological Skills Training for sports’ competitions, please get in touch with me: ryantehini@gmail.com or 073 567 7387

state effectively. These include visualisation, mindfulness training, breathing techniques or even something as simple as listening to music and understanding the effect that different types of music have on your emotions. Music is one of the most effective tools in regulating emotions, should you not be practiced in any of psychological techniques that can be used.

If you would like a run through of a few techniques that can be used to regulate your emotions, see earlier editions of HQ where visualisation, mindfulness, and breathing techniques were briefly discussed.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT

While the main components of emotional intelligence are the identification and regulation of emotions, in order to effectively translate this into improved performance, one needs to understand which emotion best suits a situation. For example, you will need to know which situations call for you to be psyched up and which call for you to relax – this gets more complex the deeper into it you get and as you start to attempt to make more minor changes.

This skill is one that is largely cultivated through practice but will also prove significantly easier to do once you have mastered the ability to identify and regulate your emotions. The recommendation I would make here is to make use of the mental journal discussed above, and when you are watching the footage of your round begin to identify what you think the ideal emotion would have been in that situation. For example, you may watch yourself ride and think, "I was too stressed". You can then also elaborate on this a bit further and say, "I should have used my techniques to relax; a calmer state was needed in this circumstance." Through this process, you will develop a higher emotional intelligence and become a better rider.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Emotional intelligence is a relatively complex psychological phenomenon, and the above provides a brief overview of how to cultivate the innate characteristics in this form of intelligence. The regulation of your emotions is the core component of emotional intelligence; master this skill and all other tasks will be far easier for you.

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PHOTOGRAPHY: MERLYNN TRICHARDT Marlise Labuschagne and Jakarta are currently enjoying their time in the 1.20m. She says “I would love to compete in the 1.30m by the end of this year with him, but the ultimate dream and goal is to jump in the 1.50m classes one day.

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