Elite Performance Development: Mind, body, craft & philosophy
Reading time: 5 minutes
What you’ll learn
How is elite performance reached and what are the different areas athletes must develop to accelerate their performance?
Why is it important to write down personal philosophy clearly in 25 words or less?
How can I start training my mind right now?
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Okay, let's dig into this. I have a question for you. Do you put in the work behind the scenes to train your mind? Well, you should.
Why? Because that’s what all the top performers and performers striving to make it as professionals are doing.
Ok. I want to train my mind. What does that mean? How can I know what to train?
Knowing your WHY will let you endure any HOW
At the center of the mind-body-craft triangle is the WHY, often called the personal philosophy. This is the reason you get up in the morning to practice. This includes the destination you're going towards, and what your intent is this practice. Here are a few questions to get you started on clarifying your personal philosophy. Write down your answers on a piece of paper.
What are you working on today? This sets your daily goals.
Do you rely on your coaches to tell you, or are you in charge of this process? This speaks to your initiative.
Why do I play/coach my sport? This clarifies your motivation.
Why is the effort I am putting in personally meaningful to me? This defines your purpose.
The Personal Philosophy Exercise
Knowing who we are, what we stand for and why we do what we do are important precursors of excellent performance in any craft (school, relationships, sports, art). What are your guiding principles? Take a moment right now to reflect on those things. Take out a piece of paper and start putting your thoughts on the page. Once you have half a page or a page, narrow it down to 25 words or less. The concise wording allows you to keep what’s important and discard the irrelevant. Once you're down to that, read it over and over until you have it memorized and it has personal meaning to you. You must be able to say it to somebody in a quick elevator ride without pulling out a piece of paper.
The reason this is so important is because now that you have this clearly articulated on a piece of paper, you can alight your actions, thoughts, and words with doing what your philosophy is. Knowing what you stand for and why you do what you do will give you clarity which will allow you to pursue your day with conviction and purpose.
The Mind, Body and Craft
Once you’re clear on your why, there are three areas you can develop in your performance. This goes for anything outside of sports as well (e.g. parenting, singing, academics, coaching).
Here is what's at the DNA of body, craft and mind. Some of the skills listed below overlap multiple categories, but are listed in the category we believe they represent best.
BODY = accuracy, agility, balance, coordination, power, speed, endurance, flexibility, muscular strength, body composition, performance nutrition, rest & active recovery, quality sleep, and injury rehab
CRAFT = technique, timing & rhythm, video analysis, tactics & strategy, travelling & jet lag, competition strategies, dealing with setback and adversity, training environment, adjusting & transitions. The specifics depend on the sport or discipline.
MIND = Consciousness (mindfulness & prayer, attention, awareness, flow, energy management, confidence, inner dialogue, goal setting, high performance imagery, constructive evaluation & feedback, presence, self-worth), Connection (team culture, coach-athlete relationship, team values, team building, leadership, roles & positions, key people in and outside of the sport), Composure (dealing with adversity & challenge, performance routines, deep focus, performing under pressure in rugged and hostile environments, relaxation, arousal regulation, consistency).
Coaches often leave out mental training
The areas coaches and athletes invest more time training are Body and Craft. And if mistakes happen, or athletes underperform, then these are the first two that get inspected as causes of the mistake. So more work gets put into Body and Craft.
That leaves the Mind unexamined and untrained. Top coaches have an understanding of the human mind. Those that do not, integrate mental performance consultants into their training environment so that their athletes learn to be conscious, connected, and composed.
A strong foundation of body mechanics, and craft skills are vital, and those physical reps in training are crucial. Not dedicating time to intentionally train the mind limits performance and only allows the athlete to reach a certain level. By investing time, effort, and resources to train the mind athletes accelerate performance in both their body and craft because knowing why you are training (the why) and the mind are the inner fabric that connect everything
What should parents and coaches do to support their athlete?
The best in the world use mental training, and if challenges or problems are coming up, you may be too late. As a coach or parent, it's important to support create opportunities where the athlete can train their mental skills proactively. Here are a few guidelines on how to move the needle in a positive direction.
Educate yourself on what mental health and training the mind means.
Take care of your own mental health and mindset. Be a great example by prioritizing sleep, meditation, exercise and nutrition. Pay attention to how you’re speaking to yourself. Young minds are sponges that absorb the mental and physical habits of the adults around them.
Pay attention to the athlete's behavior, self-talk and body language. Are they acting differently? If so, tell them what you’re noticing, and invite them to share how they are doing at this moment.
Break down the stigma around mental health by having conversations about it. Show examples of pro athletes openly speaking out about their depression, anxiety, and personal challenges.
If you feel that the athlete is struggling, reach out to certified and educated mental health professionals in your area.
How do I train my mind?
This depends on what sort of challenge you are facing. The approach will be different depending on the challenge you are facing. If the challenge is around optimizing performance or managing performance dysfunction, you can begin to train your mind by sharpening your mental skills on your own in just 10 minutes per day.
For practical exercises to train your mind and unleash your performance, visit our Instagram page.
Main Takeaways
Being clear on your personal philosophy is a prerequisite for becoming excellent at something
After knowing why you do what you do, you can evaluate your training plan and assess how well you are training your mind, body and craft. If an area is lacking attention, figure out how you can train it to accelerate your performance.
Coaches and parents are responsible for reaching out to a mental performance consultant if they notice their athlete has an untrained mind.