What do Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, and Michael Jordan all have in common? They all produced a peak performance under the most unfavorable conditions!
Each one produced a phenomenal performance — while under extreme duress — that most would find difficult to do without harsh circumstances. Most don't ask how they mentally accomplished their feats. We just chalk it up to their mental toughness. But, wouldn't you love to interview them and really dig into the working processes of their minds? I would! So much so, I used their performances as the driving force for my PhD research. So, let's take a look at what might have been going on in their minds.
Their Remarkable Feats!
In 2008, Tiger Woods won the US Open on a fractured leg and a torn ACL. He had to play 91 holes — sudden death — to win his 14th major title.
Woods had finished second at the Masters before the Open and then underwent knee surgery two days later. A reporter quoted
him saying:
"All I can say is the atmosphere kept me going. I could never quit in front of these people — it was never going to happen. It was a great battle all day. It probably was the greatest tournament I've ever had."
December 22, 2003, Brett Favre played one of his best games ever — even the NFL recognized his game for the top 100 greatest games. The game was a Monday Night Football contest with the Oakland Raiders. Favre was not expected to play since his father had died unexpectedly from a fatal heart attack the night before.
Favre said, “I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play.” And so, he did. And what a performance it was for the ages. He finished the night 22 of 30 for 399 yards and four touchdowns.
Afterward, he said, "I wanted to play better than I've ever played before."
In Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, Michael Jordan, stricken with the flu, scored 38 points to overcome the Utah Jazz and even the playoff series. The Bulls would eventually go on to win the title. Although the win was Bull’s second consecutive title, it was overshadowed by Jordan’s valiant performance in Game 5. A game that is recognized as one of the best in NBA playoff history. Afterward, Jordan was quoted as saying, “It was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.”
Figuring Out the Mental Game Inside a Peak Performance
So how did Woods, Favre, and Jordan carry out such amazing feats?
I watched each performance with amazement, just like millions of others did.
Their performances intrigued me so much that I often found myself asking, ‘What was going on with their thinking processes during these performances?’ (These are the type of questions sports psychology professionals constantly ask themselves when they witness greatness). Anyhow…
When it came time to do my PhD dissertation, their performances became the catalyst for my research topic: understanding the mental processes inside a peak performance.
Since peak performances do occur in sports—albeit rarely — I wondered, how do elite athletes who are not under extraordinary and extreme duress manage their thoughts and emotions during a peak performance. What are their mental game processes like?
As part of my research, and to help get some answers, I sought out and asked NCAA college athletes.
From the athlete’s interviews that I analyzed, what I discovered was surprising and amazing!
But first! Let’s clarify what a peak performance is.
What is a peak performance? What are its characteristics?
These questions definitely get the ball rolling, but they don’t answer the “What we need to really know” questions like:
What is happening mentally when an athlete has a peak performance? And, why can’t athletes have consistent peak performances?
The answers to these questions would definitely be the holy grail to understanding competitive athletics. Even though there is an abundant of research on the characteristics, researchers still have not been able to help athletes consistently produce peak performances. Why is that?
It may lie within the research on this phenomenon. Let me explain. There is a lot of research on the characteristics that make up a peak performance — meaning descriptions of what is happening inside a peak performance.
We have all heard athletes talk about “being in the zone” or “the flow.” Well, there is a lot of research describing these particular states of mind, and rightfully so. We need to recognize these experiences and their descriptions so we have a better understanding of what athletes are undergoing.
But there is very little research about the psychological mechanisms or processes that are going on that allows an athlete to have and sustain a peak performance. What is missing is knowing the mechanisms of change!
By mechanisms, I mean the mental game processes the athlete produces. Essentially, knowing what is mentally working or not to produce and sustain a peak performance. The inner workings. Very important stuff!
So, let’s add to our earlier question: What is peak performance and what are the mental game processes that athletes use to sustain it?
From the research, a peak performance represents the uppermost limit of superior athletic functioning — essentially a performance that surpasses all previous achievements.
An athlete is always striving to outdo his or her best performance — and coaches are always trying to help them do it. If a peak performance represents a best performance, then how did they do it? What were the psychological processes involved in the mental game to sustain it?
To answer, let’s get back to the interviews. I interviewed NCAA athletes from all Divisions, from various sports, and from institutions around the country. What I uncovered was that all the athletes went through a change process during their peak performance.
A change process unlike any other mental experience of how they managed their thoughts and emotions during their peak performance.
The process and progression (cycle) went something like this:
BEING MINDFUL
-Being self-aware
-Staying focused in the moment
-No excessive worrying
REGULATING
-accepting
-reflecting
-analyzing
RESTRUCTURING
-forgiving mistakes
-learning
-maintaining composure
-refocusing
An Analysis of The Mental Game Processes
Now this looks like a lot going on. But the reality and amazing thing was, this was happening very quickly and meta-cognitively (a fancy word that means awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes). The cycle or progression then repeated itself!
For example, during their peak performance, each athlete was constantly moving through this progression as adversities unfolded. And by consistently moving through this progression, they could keep striving forward and be effective. The consistent effectiveness and striving led them to reach a peak performance!
They were not perfect — as many in the sports world believe happens when an athlete has a peak performance. Rather, they were effective in performing the tasks necessary for success.
And to do those tasks effectively, they overcame adversity. They progressively moved through these mental processes or mechanisms of change, choosing workable behaviors along the way.
If you notice the last element Refocusing. Refocusing meant that they zeroed in on changing their behavior and then acted!
Refocusing was most notable after they committed errors. The athletes quickly refocused, adapting to change from what was not working into behavior that would work, which was behavior better aligned with their performance values.
It wasn’t about raising their level of optimism when adversity struck. The athletes didn’t need to increase their level of positive self-talk, or relax better, or take moments to visualize.
No, all the athletes refocused on behaviors that gave them the best opportunity for effectiveness and then acted. They accepted adverse moments, forgave themselves of any mistakes, learned rapidly from them, and then acted on better, workable behaviors!
Much like Jordan, Favre, and Woods
These college athletes knew when they needed to not only keep doing what they were doing, but also when to make better, workable choices. This was especially clear when adversity struck and inner obstacles (e.g., doubt, worries, fears) began to show up. This is being mentally efficient.
So, Where Do We Go from Here?
Obviously, more research needs to be conducted. But, until then.
3 Tips to Consider When Working with Athletes
Work on keeping your athletes mentally in the moment; resist going back and forth between past mistakes and potential future ones. It does not mean ignoring goals. Athletes need goals. Rather, keep them present in the moment. Everything we do, whether it is thinking about past mistakes or planning for the future, happens in the present.
Promote acceptance for their mistakes and failures with an emphasis on reflecting, analyzing, and learning from them. What is important is what they do after they have a failure or commit an error. Make sure they learn from them, adopt better workable behaviors, and then act on them.
Once they learn and act on better workable behavior(s), emphasis should center on refocusing specifically on those behaviors that will give them the best chance for success.
Conclusion
Remember: when athletes are experiencing a peak performance, mental efficiency is potentially happening rapidly (progressing through being mindful, regulating, and restructuring). They do this as they strive for effectiveness --- not perfection.
As Tom Brady said, “Being able to execute under pressure.” Being effective when it counts. And when your athletes are having a peak performance, they are being mentally efficient, mentally tough, and effective! So, keep your athletes present, accepting, and learning of what happens. Keep them refocusing, and then, most importantly, get them to act on or keep persisting with behaviors that work!
“What are your suggestions for helping athletes achieve a peak performance?"
Please share this post with other athletes, coaches, or anyone else you believe might benefit from reading it, and please, as always, feel free to leave me a comment.
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