Practical tips for optimal psychological performance

TEXT: RYAN TEHINI

PRACTICAL TIPS FOR OPTIMAL PSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE ON SHOW DAY

The majority of my clients have indicated to me that prior to starting our work together, they had wanted to make use of psychological techniques on show days (be it to reduce anxiety, deal with pressure, or further motivate themselves) but struggled to know where to start. This makes a lot of sense, as the psychological state that enables the athlete to perform optimally is a balancing act that requires a lot of trial and error, as well as a personalised approach that works to achieve the goals explicitly designed for the athlete.

However, there are a number of easy-to-perform techniques that can be applied on the show day to accomplish some of the more common goals, such as quelling your nerves and reducing performance anxiety.

Even the most skilled and seasoned rider experiences show nerves and/or performance anxiety; even Ben Maher has noted that his nerves peak before his ride on show day, and he occasionally has trouble sleeping before a big ride. These nerves are a natural part of any sport and are a good indication that what you are doing excites you, but what do you do when they are overbearing and causing you to ride poorly? Here we look at a few of the techniques available, breaking them into steps for show day:

STEP 1: RECOGNISING EMOTIONS

The first step in setting yourself up for peak performance before entering the ring is to identify precisely what you are feeling. As discussed in previous articles, nervousness and excitement both elicit the same physiological response in our body and this means that we often misidentify our emotions; we are not as good at understanding ourselves as we would like to believe. This is also important because the sooner you identify your emotions, the sooner you can act to change them and prevent their negative influence on your ride. Like many others in sport psychology, this skill is developed through systematic training. In the case of identifying emotions, the rider would benefit significantly from being able to process their thoughts objectively or without judgment, which is a core component of mindfulness training.

STEP 2: TAKE A MOMENT

We often tend to move faster in the haze of nervousness and anxiety surrounding shows. This is a symptom of the nervousness or anxiety you are feeling, which is telling you that you do not have enough time or that time is moving faster than it actually is. Those who have experienced this will know that you feel as though you are spiralling, and you have no control or are losing control – this is the grip of anxiety, and it uses cues that are familiar to you (such as the passing of time) to propel you further and further into itself. The key here is to slow yourself down; even if you feel like time is running out or you are in a rush, you absolutely have to take a moment to slow down your mind and stop the spiral. This can be easier said than done, but it also becomes much easier once you have taken the time to do step one and accurately identified the emotion you are experiencing.

You may be experiencing this anxiety due to external stimuli (your ride was moved earlier, or there was a lastminute change), or internal stimuli (you are placing a lot of weight on this one ride or feel a lack of confidence in your ability). Regardless of where the feeling originates, it is important to identify which aspects you are in control of and deal with those. In this situation, the best way to slow yourself down is to stop everything that you are doing, take three deep breaths (fill your lungs all the way, and exhale completely), and then start processing all over again by breaking up tasks that seem large into smaller, more manageable components.

STEP 3: REFRAME YOUR THOUGHTS

Our minds have a tendency to overdramatise the negative that we see – for those regular readers, you will know that this is the result of the negativity bias discussed in earlier articles that was developed for our safety. However, this negativity bias means that not everything you think is the truth. We have a collection of lenses through which we see the world that impacts how we interpret our rides. For example, imagine before a show, you get on your horse, and they spook at a loud noise that normally wouldn't bother them. Objectively observing this situation would tell you that maybe the noise was slightly louder than expected,

or a very high pitch, or that they are just somewhat nervous. However, as a rider, you have a number of lenses that skew your processing. You may think back to the coach who many years ago told you that this horse spooks easily and this would make them unlikely to compete at a high level (lens one); or you may think back to the last time they spooked before the ride and how you then had a stop, wondering if that will happen again today (lens two). Whatever the case is, there are several things going through your head that result in a likely overanalysis of the situation; when this happens, you need to step back, notice that your thoughts are overly dramatised, and reframe how you perceive what is going on around you. The key to doing this is to objectively consider what has happened using only the available facts, without the lenses.

Again, this is another component that is easier said than done. However, it is far easier to do this once you have done the first two steps, taken three deep breaths, reanalysed the situation and reframed your thoughts.

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

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

Show days can be extremely daunting, and in the absence of psychological techniques aimed at helping you deal with the pressure of the day, one can wind up underperforming due to their mind's influence rather than their riding ability. The above techniques should provide a quick, easily accessible, and helpful way to deal with the occasional show nerves. However, if you find that this is a continual problem, or you would just like some guidance in this regard, don't be shy to reach out for help – more often than not, there is an easy fix that will ensure you ride to the best of your ability, and get out of your own way.