The Peak Performance Expert

How do they do it?  This was the question a friend posed as we were watching the USA men’s gymnastics team the other night.  Indeed, their strength, their balance, their ability to fly through the air and swing themselves around with breakneck speed using one hand seems magical or super-human.  We watch, holding our breath, amazed that people can do that! “I could never do that,”  we say.

But then I thought about that statement and mused that it is just that kind of statement which immobilizes us.  It starts off as a statement and then becomes a belief that limits us.  Of course we could do that (whatever that is) if we had the desire, the motivation, the plan,  and the commitment to execute the plan - step by step.  It may sound stupidly simple to say that none of the Olympic athletes perfected their prowess overnight and yet we somehow don’t consider that when we too quickly compare ourselves to them.

What does it take to be a champion - in sports or in business?   Here’s my take on it - the 8 C’s of Mental Toughness:

1. Championship mindset - a willingness to seek out and an openness to receiving feedback about your performance.
2. Concentration - the ability to focus on what is relevant to the performance and not succumb to distractions.
3. Composure - the ability to stay calm and poised in high stakes situations.
4. Come back from mistakes - the ability to bounce back from set-backs and mistakes.
5. Clarity about Motivation - tKnowing what you want and why you want it.
6. Commitment - the desire and ability to stick to your performance plan.
7. Confidence - belief in your ability to perform well.
8. Courage -the quality of spirit that enables you to take on challenges.

I’ll be commenting on how I see these factors being played out as the Games continue.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Championship Mindset, Mental Toughness, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.