Elite performance requires us to be vulnerable. It is essential to have an honest view of our skill set to grow and improve. Working with a coach, or using tools like biofeedback technology can give a clear picture. In the clinic, we use a variety of motion and force capture to enhance the assessment process. Outside of the clinic, wearable technology can track heart rate, speed, and sleep metrics to give you a more complete picture of your performance.
But, ultimately, it’s how we interpret that information that matters. Use the self-assessment below and see if you fall into any of these 4 protective strategies that may be limiting your potential:
1. Self-Handicapping:
Intentionally limiting your effort to give yourself an “out.” If you didn’t really try your best, then the results don’t matter.
2. Feedback Avoidance:
Bubble alert! By only surrounding yourself with people who flatter you, you are distort you outlook.
3. Self-Serving Bias:
Only taking credit for success, and not failure. When you win, its because of your hard work and natural talent, but if your fail it could be the refs, the weather, the astrological calendar…
4. Downward Social Comparison:
Rather than look at how everyone performed, you only compare yourself to those who did worse to protect your ego. Maybe you only scored twice, but he didn’t score at all.
Being mindful of these common mental traps helps us build awareness of the role our mind plays in performance.
Adapted from @stevemagness, author of Peak Performance
