This week I wanted to continue to look into the mind and how it really does have the power to either create or destroy your desires and goals, especially on the racing circuit. It is without question the largest factor of how a rider performs on race day and also learns new skills in training.
I have spent time with riders at both ends of the ‘thinking’ scale and continue to help them find balance in their mind. I myself was very much an over thinker and with the right coaching and education was able to turn that around and become more productive, becoming a lot more confident in my own abilities.
When I was really young I used to make myself sick with anxiety and before I even got to the gate I felt like I had no energy, and this was because I had expended it all through nerves and was in flight mode! This was a very frustrating time for my family, they would watch me go and win the first two Moto’s and then have nothing left for the afternoons racing. The thing was, there really was nothing to worry about and I proved that in the first races but I had already spent my energy and worked myself up so much at the start of the day ‘overthinking’ what might happen, the anxiety caused me to release Cortisol into my system which is basically a stress hormone and that was no way to be operating in competition. This is why I can relate to so many riders and parents having been through it myself and its great when I can turn those bad times into something positive to help others now. Over thinking is just a symptom of doubt, the root cause to much of this doubt has to do with our upbringing, how we see failure, how we learn from mistakes, how we are praised by our elders and how we are challenged (this will be another blog subject 'power of words').
If you can imagine a line, at one end you have Under thinkers and at the other you have over thinkers and right smack bang in the middle, where the balance is are the productive thinkers. Now we all have our place on this line and the interesting part is that at times we can shift where we are on this scale.
The characteristics of the under thinker :
Positives:
Fearless
Rarely doubt themselves
Will be the first to try anything
They just want to go fast!
Negatives:
Can't focus for long periods of time
Finds it hard to slow down and train techniques
Crashes a lot, combination of focus and lack of technique
Sustains more injuries
Pays very little attention to detail, finds it difficult to analyse situations
Finds it difficult learn. (parents normally come to me wanting to stop them from crashing)
Will rarely look for answers when things go wrong, they believe ‘luck’ will change
The characteristics of the over thinker :
Positives
Rarely gets injured
Can process information and learn new skills when instructed
Will be very inventive with race lines
Very analytical and good at problem solving
Negatives
Will have self image problems
Will not commit to pushing outside their comfort zone
Will crash due to hesitation, doubting their abilities and riding with fear
Cant operate from the ‘zone’
Suffers with anxiety (in a state of anxiety you can’t take in new information)
If they do get injured its hard for them to get over it mentally
They seek perfectionism on race day( frustrated parents normally come to me wanting to boost their confidence)
These are the extremes of each end of the scale but I’m sure by now each and everyone of you has identified with at least one thing on those lists. Even Pro riders have issues with their thinking and when each pro has the techniques dialled and their fitness is as good as it can be, what really makes the difference on race day? who sinks and who swims? The ones who survive and are successful belong to the group of thinkers we call ‘Productive Thinkers’
Productive thinkers have the following characteristics and more:
Has a spirit to learn/love of learning
They know they have done all they can to prepare
They invest in themselves
They learn from their loses and reset very quickly
They believe in themselves
They have great confidence and trust in their abilities and the team around them
They can switch their brain into ‘the zone’ very easily
They set goals (long range and mini goals)
They do whatever is necessary to become more than they already are
They never make excuses or blame others
They are always honest
They can keep their composure under the most heated situations
They are not afraid to take their time
They do every little thing to the best of their ability
They understand that fear isn't real, but danger is so they take calculated risks
They understand the importance of team work and benefits others can bring to them
Know that their biggest competition is themselves.
The good news is you really can shift your thinking and work on developing your strengths and perception with the right work and learning! Most of your thinking has come through conditioning and cultural paradigms from the environment you have grow up in and believe me when I say there are beliefs we have all grown up with that sometimes do not serve us. This is why all of the greatest achievers in the world, whether that be in sport or business, surround themselves with other people who have great belief systems and who have a positive energy about them, as they say “success breeds success”.
Where do you feel you fall on this scale?
Thanks again for reading, it is enjoyable to share information with you all, my aim is to help bring awareness to the mental side of racing and that things can be turned around once we get to the root cause of any issue. If you need help and guidance with your race day performance and getting into the zone, please feel free to reach out and contact me.
Gary
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