WHAT YOU FOCUS ON IS WHAT YOU GET
https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=478b809ee3&u=fbbdd1942deae8886d3ccc2ce&id=5391cf676c
I came across this article from Elite Squash and thought it an interesting one to share. It may be a little lengthy but worth the read, reflection and practice.
Focus is essentially where we put our attention. The key thing is what we decide to do with what we are focusing on. This will decide how we feel. How we feel on a consistent basis decides the quality of our life.
The game of squash is famously intense and chaotic at times. There are so many things we can focus on while playing that the list is far too long to even begin thinking about. When things are not going well in a match our focus will scatter and look for problems and desperately try to fix them or avoid them altogether; not a good formula for success.
The good news is we can choose what to focus on. One player could choose to focus on the opportunities of a high pressure match while the other chooses to focus on the fear of failing. The reality of the match remains the same but the experience of each individual is different. Therefore it is never the match situation thats the problem, its what goes on in the mind of the individual. Think about that for a moment; how often have you battled with circumstances not being how you want them and ended up focusing on the negatives and frustrations only to have a bad experience? Why not choose to have a positive experience?
A great start is to make a point of choosing to focus on the world in front of you in the most positive way possible for a whole day and see how you feel. This could be on the journey to work or school, it could be during interactions with others or tasks in front of you. The key point here is firstly what you focus on but also how you choose to focus on it. For example: If you choose to focus on the weather and it rains, you have various options of how to experience this. One option could be ‘rain is refreshing and great for the dry ground’. Another could be ‘rain is miserable and makes me cold and wet’. The rain is the same no matter what but the experience is decided by how to focus on the event – in this case the rain.
This can be applied to any situation on or off the squash court. Remember: How you respond to one thing you don’t like will be the same in every situation you don’t like. This is a habit and habits can be extremely limiting but also can changed to become life changing.
A great strategy for directing focus is to ask a better question of the situation. If players who hit the ball hard, rush around and get everything back frustrate you then change the way you focus on this kind of player. ‘How can I use the skills I have to find a solution to this playing style?’. Or ‘How can I change the way I focus on this type of player to make the experience a positive one for me?.
Go into your practice, league match or tournament choosing to focus on how you can optimise this performance and have fun along the way. Write down two simple focus objectives before the event and stick to them. This isn’t limited to the on court experience, don’t forget the other people around you who you can share and enjoy the experience with.
We all have our own patterns of behaviour and focus habits. But these can be changed at any time in any moment if we choose to but first we must decide clearly what outcome we want. Spend five minutes writing a short vision of how you would ultimately like to experience your squash in practice and matches. Make the vision very compelling and exciting. This will help drive the desire to switch negative patterns of focus to positive ones.
Try this exercise:
Write down three things you consistently focus on each day which are stopping you from being at your best. This could be negatives about yourself, other people’s successes which make you feel less worthy or things which make you anxious. These are patterns of behaviour.
Next, think of a time when you were at your absolute best and write down three things you were focusing on at that time and how that made you feel.
Replace the points in step one with those in step two every day. In the morning is a great time to do this but any time of day as often as possible will have a huge and lasting impact.
‘Where focus goes, energy flows’ Tony Robbins
Reply