The following is an excerpt from THE ART OF EXCEEDING: Building High-Performance Athletes.
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The Paradox of Habits
“The Quality of your habits determines the quality of your success.”
Frank Giampaolo
In the fiercely competitive world of high-performance athletes, the role of habits takes center stage. You’re not just an athlete; you’re a creature of habit who’s crafted routines that govern your results. Yet, within this world of routines lies a paradox—an intricate interplay between productive and unproductive habits that make the difference between triumph and disappointment.
1.1 The Influence of Habit
Before we dive into the paradox, it’s crucial to understand the influence of habits. Habits are the autopilot of your performance. Every action is shaped by the habits you’ve meticulously developed over years of training.
1.2 Productive Habits: The Path to Excellence
High-performing athletes are masters of productive habits. Their lives are a combination of structured training sessions, meticulous analysis, and rigorous mental conditioning. These productive habits are the secret behind your ability to deliver peak performances in competition consistently. The following are five software essentials found in high-performance athletes:
Disciplined Training Routines
High-performers adhere to rigorous training schedules, consistently working on their strengths and weaknesses, ensuring their skills are finely tuned.
Mental Toughness
They develop habits of mental resilience, learning to control their focus, manage intensity and stress, and momentum, which allows them to maintain confidence under the most intense pressure.
Efficient Time Management
Time is a precious resource. High-performers utilize efficient time management habits to balance training, recovery, and personal life.
Continuous Learning
Champions cultivate a habit of learning and studying their performances and their opponent’s performances to adapt and evolve.
Emotional Management
Consistent contenders manage their performance anxieties very well. From choking to panicking to closing out leads, top athletes control their emotions.
1.3 The Dark Side- Unproductive Habits
Within the developmental phases, the same framework of habits that propel some players to excellence also undermines other’s performance. Unproductive habits can manifest in the following ways:
Perfectionism: Striving for perfection can lead to a paralyzing fear of mistakes, hampering scheduling requirements, training blocks, and game day performance.
Over Analysis: Habitual overthinking can create frustration and mental paralysis, hindering decision-making and execution.
Negative Self-Talk: Negative internal dialogue is a relentless adversary. Negative self-talk erodes confidence, destroys inner belief, and disrupts focus.
Overconfidence: Athletes with this distorted view often avoid doing early morning training or ignoring mental and emotional development.
Underconfidence: Athletes with this mindset take constructive criticism personally. They blame others for their setbacks as they stick to their old, unproductive routines.
1.4 Navigating the Paradox
The challenge for high-performing athletes lies in navigating this paradox of habits. It involves changing the unproductive to productive. The keys to doing so include:
Self-Awareness: Recognizing your habits, both productive and unproductive, is the first step in intentionally shaping them.
Balance: Strive for a balance between consistency and adaptability. Your routines should provide stability but flexibility in responding to the dynamic nature of your sport.
Mental Conditioning: Train your mind as rigorously as your body. Develop habits of exposing your athletic identity (strengths) and emotional fortitude to counter unproductive habits.
Customization: Your weekly developmental plan should be uniquely tailored to your skills. Avoid the “one size fits all” approach to training most of the time.
Mental Coach: Seek guidance from an experienced mental coach who can help you identify and manage productive and unproductive habits.
In the paradox of habits within high-performance sports, the true champions are those who can harness the immense power of habits. Your choices and habits will always be integral to your life, shaping your destiny. By understanding this paradox and navigating it with intention, you’ll build better systems to unlock your full potential.
YOUR TAKEAWAY CHALLENGE
Habits are your autopilots. Productive habits require more exposure; unproductive habits require avoidance. Be honest as you identify which of your choices are productive or unproductive. For some top athletes, hiring a mental coach is essential to aid in identifying those habit loops.
