Does your brain feel jammed?

Do you ever wish you could push a delete button and get rid of all the junk in your noggin?

Today a client reported feeling overwhelmed and tense because of the  immense amount of work she had to complete within a short period of time.  Sound familiar?

Paying attention to the barrage of information coming at us is costly.  Most of us aren’t aware that there are different kinds of attention; we spend most of our time engaged in “narrow-objective-focus,” zeroing in on one or a few things in the foreground and ignoring the background.

In a book called, The Open-Focus Brain by Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins, Fehmi, relying on decades of research, says that the way we pay attention has a measurable impact on our brain waves. 

When engaged in narrow focus (where busy people spend most of their time), the brain, being the master control panel for our mind and body, can induce changes in muscle tension, respiratory rate, and the flow of neurotransmitters and hormones.

It turns out that everything is influenced by how we pay attention!

One of the reasons we feel better sitting on a beach is that we stop narrowly focusing our attention and instead broaden our focus to take in the beauty of the ocean or the vastness of the sky and the briny fragrance of the sea.

Narrow focus isn’t all bad.  It allows us to see and deal with urgent or important situations.  It is effective in helping us, in the short run, to accomplish a lot.

It was, however, designed to be an emergency mode of paying attention and, as such, it revs up our brain and body which, over time, can result in chronic stress problems such as anxiety, headaches, gastro-intestinal disorders, heart disease and insomnia.

So what can you do?

You can take mini vacations or “focus breaks” periodically throughout the day to offset the negative impact of too much time spent in narrow-objective focus.

When toiling away at your computer (narrow focus), occasionally sit back and allow your eyes to gaze at the space behind your computer.  If you’re lucky enough to have an office with a window, take a moment to look out and take in the largeness of the space outside.

If you’re stuck in a cubicle, sift your eyes away from the task at hand and look at the far wall or the ceiling.

The trick is not to zero in on any one object but to soften your gaze as you take in a sense of background or space.  Exhale slowly three times while doing this.

You brain will respond by changing its electrical activity to “synchronous alpha.”  This is good for you.  Alpha brain waves are associated with feelings of relaxation and time spent in alpha produces positive changes in mood, energy, creativity, thinking and memory.

Not bad for a few moments spent gazing out a window!

As an outside observer (and a fan), watching the team dissolve is both heart-breaking and fascinating – kind of like watching a train-wreck – it’s tragic yet you can’t take your eyes off the scene.

So how can we understand the  disintegration of such an excellent team? 

For help I went to Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s fine book called Confidence: How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin & End.

Here is a quote from the book:

“Decline generally does not stem from a single factor, but from an accumulation of decisions, actions and commitments that become entangled in self- perpetuating system dynamics.  Once a cycle of decline is established, it is hard to simply call a halt, put on the brakes, and reverse direction.  The system has momentum.  Expectations have formed, and they can turn into a culture that perpetuates losing.”

Look at the faces of the players in the dug-out.  What do you see?  A lot of tension and worry.  Even after the high moments (rookie Ryan Lavarnway’s home runs) the pleasure dissipated rapidly.  Ok, they know their season is on the line and they can’t seem to figure out a way to get back on track. They don’t look like a winning team.

Under pressure, a typical athlete’s (well, everyone’s actually) focus will turn inward.  A seasoned pro athlete, a mentally tough athlete knows this and will work to redirect that focus externally, on the task at hand.

It’s not that internal focus is inherently bad, but it can end up in self-criticism and rumination and that is bad.

When Jon Lester said the other night, “I stink,” he may have been indulging himself in a bit of self-pity.  Yeah, his playing was uncharacteristically poor but if he only dwells on how bad he was, it will be harder for him to step back, regroup, refocus and come up with a solution to the problem.

Likewise, when ball-players, who are not generally known as the most articulate bunch, say things like, “we gotta play better baseball, “ or “we gotta come here ready to play ball,” that vagueness does not reflect a specific plan of action.  What, after all, have they been doing all year long if not playing baseball?

A losing streak can begin with one or two key players getting into a slump.  Moods are contagious and unless there are some key players who are outspokenly optimistic and who can insert some positive energy into the clubhouse, the rest of the players “catch” the mood.  Then learned helplessness moves in. Kanter writes, “…powerlessness undermines resilience.”

(Learned helplessness is a term based on Marty Seligman’s research at U. Penn.  It happens when it seems that no matter what you try, you can’t get out of a bad situation and so, you simply get depressed and give up.)

How to get out of it?  Since no one except the team knows the entire story, it’s impossible to offer specific suggestions but generally speaking, I would encourage the players who are beating themselves up to acknowledge how rotten they feel and then to  focus on developing a detailed, highly specific plan of action. Focusing on each step instead of the outcome is helpful, too.  (Especially since we have no control over the ultimate outcome of anything.)

Along those lines, I would ask the players to create a list of the things they can control and the things they cannot.  And the focus should be, obviously, on the things they CAN control.

I would hold a team meeting since I suspect a lot has been left unsaid and that is creating an undercurrent of negativity and tension. There is that sticky issue of those guys who are getting the big bucks and who are not delivering. That affects not only the team but the humiliated (but rich) ball player.

I am reminded of the old Disney film, Dumbo, about the little elephant with the big ears.  He thought he could fly because of the magic feather given to him by his friend, the little mouse.  When Dumbo lost the feather he thought he was going to fall until the mouse told him he didn’t need the feather.  It took Dumbo a while before he believed it but he managed to do so before crashing to the ground.

This is a good ball team.  They just don’t fully believe it these days. They may need a magic feather.

I suppose the lesson in this is that sometimes, despite years of experience and hundreds of hours of preparation and a superb track record of peak performance, we can fail.  It can fall apart and no matter what we do at those times, we can’t get it right. 

The mental toughness comes after the debacle.  Do you let it eat away at you? Do you beat yourself up? Do you hide in shame? Do you give up?  Or do you take a step back and objectively evaluate what happened?  Do you use the set-back as an opportunity to learn and grow? Do you seek some help in figuring it out?   

I’m betting Bard feels pretty bad about what happened but I also think he’s already creating a plan to prevent it from happening again.

Displaying class and mental toughness, Ellsbury didn’t get caught up in the criticism. Instead he worked hard to build his strength and refine his skills.  It’s paid off big time. 

Hitting .313 with 24 homers and 84 RBIs from the leadoff spot, Ellsbury has been an integral part of the Red Sox success this year. 

Ellsbury stands out in another way and that is his unabashed delight in his own success.  When he homers or gets a hit, unlike many of his colleagues, he actually smiles and sometimes claps his hands.  There is no arrogance in this nor is he showing off; it is sheer authentic satisfaction in his ability to execute.  

And why shouldn’t he feel good about executing well?  Isn’t it the goal of any athlete to achieve success?  

And yet there seems to be an unwritten law in baseball that a player should not reveal too much of what he is feeling (winning big games, especially during playoffs is an exception; then it is okay for the group hugs and jumping up and down in relief and happiness).  But normally, it’s hard to notice any flicker of emotion on a player’s face when he successfully gets a hit or even a home run. 

I asked my husband about this.  He played football and baseball in college and was elected to the National College Football Hall of Fame (scholar-athlete award).  He said that back when he played sports, if a player showed pleasure in his work, he might be seen as conceited so, yes, there was an unwritten rule that it was not okay to show you were pleased with yourself. My husband now sees that it is rather silly although he disapproves of extensive showmanship (chest thumping and bumping and acrobatic leaps in the end zone) that can be seen in football. 

But Ellsbury is not a chest thumper.  He just seems to be an excellent ball player who has worked hard to refine his skills and who is quietly pleased with the results.  His reaction is real. When other players pretend it is nothing to hit a jack, it is fake. 

Smile on Jacoby.

Although there are many pipers in the US, the British Isles reign supreme and hence, the competition would be stiff. It was great fun to work with this group of fine musicians who quickly took the skills I taught them and put them into practice.  The result? 

In one of the piper’s own words:  

“Wanted to update you on how the band did in Scotland at the World Pipe Band Championships. Out of 23 bands that competed at our level that day, the Grade 2 band placed 5^th in the world. Fantastic for a first showing!! The best the band has ever played in a competition. Adam, Matt and all the other people in the band want to thank you for all you taught them at the seminar. They were very well prepared with little to no nerves when they performed.”

 Here is a link to the band playing in the finals in Glasgow.  Stuart Highlanders Bagpipe Band

What’s happening is a reaction to an unwitting instruction they are giving themselves.  By saying, “I hope I don’t screw it up again,” or “I better get it right this time, “ they are actually telling their brain “screw it up!” 

Here’s a way around it:

1. During practice on your own, take a few minutes and close your eyes, exhale slowly several times to relax and get centered.
2. Now, with your mind’s eye, “see” yourself playing the piece correctly in slow motion, really noticing where you place your fingers, etc.
3. Repeat this several times. (Remember you are not actually playing the instrument you are simply visualizing it.)
4. After you do this several times, open your eyes and now play the piece but do so slowly, really focusing on each note, making sure you play it correctly.
5. If you goof, stop, go back to step 1 and get yourself refocused and do the visualization again.
6. Now resume playing but do so slowly.The emphasis is on playing the correct notes over and over again; speed is not the issue right now – you are training your brain and body to hit the right notes.
7. Gradually, increase your speed and be sure to tell yourself something like, “I’m getting better and better at this…”

We humans do like familiarity – especially when we have to perform in high stakes situations such as competitions. But we often must perform in unfamiliar territory and deal with less than ideal situations such as lousy sound systems, crummy lighting, faulty technology, noisy crowds and perhaps foreign languages. 

So – what do you do? 

One tactic is to find out as much as possible about the environment.  Talk to others who have been there, find photos on-line, or talk to the event organizers.  If none of this yields adequate information, remember that the most important familiar element to your performance is you!  As mindfulness expert, Jon Kabat Zinn wrote, “Wherever you go, there you are.”   

Here’s a trick you can try: When you practice your performance, imagine you are surrounded by a protective bubble that enables you to connect with your audience but keeps out unwanted noise and distractions.  This bubble allows you to perform at an optimal level no matter what the circumstances are for your performance. If you want you can provide a label for your bubble (such as “success bubble”) so that at the time of the performance, if you find you are being unduly distracted, say “success bubble” to yourself to reconnect with the positive feeling of being protected from unwanted distractions.

In asking them what their biggest challenges were, the immediate response was a litany of things over which they have no control such as the weather (the event takes place outdoors and so their instruments will be adversely affected if it rains); the crowds; the bias against Americans; and the unfamiliarity of the environment.

This preoccupation with uncontrollable factors is quite common and it contributes to anxiety because – well – you can’t control such things!  All you can do is fret about them.  Actually, there is something you can do and that is exactly what we did.  I created two lists, one was labeled “Uncontrollables” and the other was called “Controllables.”  We then generated the lists together which enabled them to see their time and effort was better spent on things over which they did have control such as their attitude, the way they practiced, and so forth. 

Focusing on the controllables infuses a performer with positive energy and confidence. Instead of thinking, “If X happens I will fail,” he or she thinks, “I have a plan of action to handle most anything that may happen.” 

This can be the first step in building mental toughness.

If you’re like most people you overlook mental preparation as part of your overall scheme in improving your performance.  Well, if this is true for you, you may be interested to know that many Olympic athletes said that if they had begun their mental training earlier, they would have been far more successful.  Also, the best athletes worked with a coach to create a customized mental game plan. 

What about those athletes that did not fare well?  It seems that the problem they experienced were as follows:

•  They decided to change practice and performance patterns that worked for them in the past.  So, they might have revised their training at the last minute in an effort to improve their performance.  But – it backfired.  Last minute changes should be avoided.
•  They were blown away by distractions especially the notion that “this is the Olympics!” and therefore their focus got off track. The lesson for you here is to keep things in perspective.  Sure, it may be a Big Event but if you are thoroughly prepared, and this of course included solid mental preparation, you will perform well.

The best Olympic athletes developed strategies that enabled them to get back on track when they were distracted.  What tactics do you use?   Here are some to try:

 The Three R’s 

1. Recognize that you are distracted
2. Regroup – exhale slowly to calm down
3. Refocus – once calm, go back to the task at hand. 

Four Step Recovery Plan 

1. Accept the mistake
2. Focus on the here and now
3. Exhale slowly to calm down
4. Use your cue word (used in your imagery training) to get back on track