Finding Your Groove

CHAPTER ONE - The Advantage

That certain look in the eyes, that particular way they hold themselves tells you, "This person is a winner." They are the ones you want to be at bat in the final inning with the winning run on first; they are the ones you want to get the ball to in the final seconds. It's not because they have the best average on the team, or the best outside shot, it's because they have that extra something you can count on when the contest is close.

The real pressure players, such as Joe Montana, Michael Jordon, and Monica Seles, bring a winning element to their sports that most other players don't have. They bring the beauty that comes with doing your best when it counts the most, the beauty of the challenge being offered and answered.

The business world also has its pressure players, the ones who always come up with the right decisions in the midst of crisis, or who are able to sway the board at the critical moment. These are the people others count on and search out to run their organizations.

Pressure players are in demand because they're winners. This is the element that attracts fans, everyone likes to win; everyone likes to be successful in whatever they do. There is a primitive pleasure in bettering tough competition and overcoming obstacles.

Being able to perform under pressure is probably the single largest factor in winning, and it is definitely satisfying. Coming up with the big play, making the field goal at the last second, or making the right decision in the middle of confusion is an unforgettable thrill. To actually do well under pressure, not simply to have tried hard, adds to the joy of playing and vastly improves your chance of winning.

The secret to doing your very best involves several key elements: selecting a field that fits your talents as well as having a mental strategy for crucial moments. The ability to select an undertaking that fits you and to perform when it counts are skills so powerful that they confer you with what could be considered an unfair advantage. A winning advantage.

YOUR PERFORMANCE CYCLE

Anytime you need to take action, you should have you bearings, and the same is true for performing. Thus the first step in developing your ability is to find out where you are. If you were standing on the edge of a cliff, your moves would be quite different from your actions on the dance floor. Identifying your best move means knowing where you are in the performance cycle.

As you approach any contest or task, you are in one of the PERFORMANCE CYCLE'S PHASES: Searching, Training, or Performing. The more your effort is directed at the proper phase, the better you will be using your talent.

Figure 1. The Performance Cycle.

Finding your right phase in the performance cycle is simple. Skim through the following BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS, and select the phase that seems to fit you best. It should stand out and draw you to it, so much so you may not even wish to look at the others.

Your phase should be clear by just reading the BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS or the FAST START GUIDE. As you go through the descriptions of the various sections, feel free to select whichever ones attract you, and concentrate your efforts there.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS

The Searching Phase:

If you are uncertain about your current focus, the searching section presents a method for deciding on a main interest. Its action approach provides you with a way to try new things and uncover areas that are a true reflection of your talents, while helping you feel okay about being undecided.

Other issues covered in the searching section include: How to begin doing what you want while handling other obligations; how to avoid others' influence in selecting what is best for you; how to deal with your own self-imposed rules; and how to keep your self-worth, even when you're undecided or don't have a focus that gets you much recognition. (Chapter 2 and 3.)

The Training Phase:

When you have a special interest, it is often necessary to take in massive amounts of information quickly, especially when you're first learning about an area. The training sections offer accelerated learning techniques, methods for avoiding overload and burnout, and a process for making decisions under pressure. (Chapter 4.)

The Performing Phase:

As you become more skilled, the mental part of the contest becomes more important. Tough competition requires you to make the right mental adjustments for handling distractions and finding your "groove." The performance section offers a system for identifying your specific mental adjustments and gaining control of your best performances. Techniques for stress management and pain control also are discussed. (Chapters 5, 6 and 7.)

FAST START GUIDE

If one of these descriptions seems to fit your situation, turn to that section and begin your work from there.

The attraction to focus on your own problems was demonstrated when several individuals were asked to comment on early sketches of this book. After hearing the categories, they became so absorbed in their own particular interest that they resisted attempts to even look at other parts. They had their own overriding concerns.

One person couldn't decide between a boring job that paid well and an exciting job with low pay; she focused all her attention on the decision section in Chapter 3. Another reader would only discuss how comments by his opponents would throw off his tennis game. He stuck with discussion of the section on handling distractions in Chapter 6. This focus on your concern is how the book is intended to be used; pick the part that pertains to you, and work with that.

COMPLICATIONS IN THE CYCLE

Ideally, your movement in the performance cycle is quite fluid. You start out searching, find an interest, learn the necessary skills, and begin performing. After a time, you move on to a renewed search as your life and situation changes.

LAGGING BEHIND

Lagging behind in the SEARCHING PHASE can be frustrating because you never really get the opportunity to focus your effort on one area. Because you're always searching, and somewhat uncertain about what will come up next, it's difficult to get serious and you never make any sort of commitment to your interest. In some ways this makes sense. If you're going to be off in another direction in the next moment, it's important not to be tied down or have too much investment in something you're going to leave behind.

Continued anticipation can keep you endlessly in the search phase. The reasons for lagging behind in the SEARCH PHASE most often stem from searching in the wrong way, namely, looking for direction from outside yourself, rather than from within. This is not just a personal problem, for other people actually try to make this happen. Your family applies subtle pressure for you to choose a particular profession; vocational counselors tell you what the jobs of the future will be; and fashion trends even tell you how to dress. It's no wonder that you might have trouble seeing things with your own eyes.

Fortunately, lagging behind in the searching phase is fairly easy to correct, simply because it's usually a technique problem. You only need to use a more effective technique than listening to others, and being overly influenced by current trends. A better process is to give yourself some choices and see what you take action on, for action is the great equalizer. The things you take action on freely, are the best indication of where your true interests and talents lie, and when you hit a true interest, your search will be over. (1)

Lagging behind in the TRAINING PHASE is seldom a problem, especially if your area is something you're genuinely interested in. When you're committed to an area that excites you, it seems that the opportunities for performing arise even before your training ends.

The PERFORMING PHASE presents several problems if you don't move on to another focus when it's time. Most of the time this isn't a problem, since your next focus arises quite naturally: It's only natural to ignore your bicycle in your teens when you discover the opposite sex.

However, there can be times when you need to move on and search again, but you don't want to lose the recognition and reinforcement associated with your last venture. This is a tough decision, especially if your next undertaking is not clear, and you will need to go through the uncertainty of searching. Part of the uncertainty of searching stems from the variety of ventures, and their different lengths. Some areas are conducive to a life-long pursuit, whereas others seem to pressure the participants to move on after a time, or at least follow it in another capacity. In sports, golf and swimming have their master leagues, whereas football and baseball have only a handful of older players. For some sports the skills and reflexes degrade over time, and this requires players to move on.

There are no easy answers for leaving a sport, or any venture you enjoy. Change is seldom easy, and it takes real courage to leave secure pursuits and explore new areas. It may help to remember that change can happen slowly and in little steps. Getting a book on a new interest at the library is a step; making a list is a step. Take whatever steps feel comfortable and work from there.

EXAMPLE:

GETTNG AHEAD OF YOURSELF

The most common form of getting ahead of yourself is to begin performing when you really need to be training. By shifting too quickly into the PERFORMING PHASE you can prevent yourself from learning fundamental techniques properly. Proper learning requires some trial and error, and once you become involved in competition and performing, it is more difficult to freely experiment and make the mistakes that eventually lead to good technique.

If you are out traveling from meet to meet, getting caught up in the strategies of performing, when you should be working on your technique, your long term performance can't help but suffer. You would be spending your time and energy on meets you're not ready for, missing the opportunity for in-depth learning.

Even when you have paced yourself properly, there is a chance for overextending whenever you try to make an adjustment or add a new technique to your game. Because you're already performing and attracting attention, it's embarrassing to look like you've lost some of your previous ability.

If, for instance, you want to add topspin to your tennis forehand. Even after you figure out how to do it, it will take some time to learn it well. While learning this new technique, you are bound to feel awkward and will probably miss many shots. Nonetheless, this is exactly what you must do to learn the new stroke.

When you overextend and jump into the performing phase before you're ready, you just won't have the opportunity to experiment with the new stroke. In a grudge match or with a gallery of onlookers you'll resort to the tried and faithful shots you already know. You just won't take the chance of hitting a little blooper into the net at match point and getting those knowing looks from the gallery. Practically speaking, there is little room for learning fundamental techniques in the performing phase.

This over-extension into the performing phase often applies to business situations. That extra bit of training taken earlier in your career, before the serious performing began, could very well have made you the office expert in a particular area, thereby distinguishing you from the rest of the pack. In a large organization, recognizing yourself as being in a training phase frees you from playing political games. You can do a wider range of tasks enthusiastically, and gain insight into areas that otherwise you may consider beneath your position. When the time does come for you to shift to the performing phase and play politics, you will be better prepared.

EXAMPLES:

In state-of-the-art technical applications requiring insight and creativity, overextending into the performing phase can bring work to a halt. The concerns of performing are just too distracting, and being creative requires an uncluttered mind, a certain freedom to explore. When you get too distracted by application requirements, the creative process can overload and stop.

In electronics, for example, you may get so concerned with the market and what the product should look like, that you can't solve the basic technical problem needed to create the product in the first place. This is often true in the arts, where artists get so concerned with how a certain group will react to a piece that their creative juices actually dry up. When you need to do creative research, that's all you should be concerned with. For state-of-the-art applications, staying in your proper phase is not just an advantage, it is sometimes an absolute necessity.

Overextending from the searching phase to the training phase isn't very common, mostly because when you are confused and searching for a focus, you just don't have an area to shift to prematurely. A greater difficulty in the SEARCH PHASE stems from getting bogged down or distracted, and not finding an area to which you can devote yourself. This problem is discussed fully in the searching section.

Knowing where you are in the cycle allows you to focus your energy in the most rewarding way. In addition to the concentrating power of knowing where you are, the simple fact that you are actively pursuing a genuine interest brings a spark to your life. When your natural inclinations are blocked, drudgery takes over, and the smallest tasks become major efforts. When you are truly engrossed in an activity, life is exciting, and energy flows naturally into your efforts.

Examples of this seem to crop up continually. If your car mechanic enjoys his work, the slightest hint of a question will propel him into an animated explanation of the most obscure details, yet, if he is only concerned about the weekly pay check, grunt responses and minimal effort will be the norm. His enthusiasm means you get high quality work, and he succeeds in his business. Enthusiasm breeds success. If you are enthused, technically capable, and mentally prepared, you have a major advantage.