"Acting as if..." is Better than "Fake it 'Til You Make It"

Poise is the outward demonstration of self-control. Poise is great, but self-control is the bigger issue. If an athlete has self-control, he will always have poise, but he can fake an appearance of poise without having self-control. Many athletes look poised, but are actually in turmoil on the inside, and their performance suffers accordingly. This typically happens because they have learned to follow team rules such as no throwing helmets or verbal expletives. The athlete is faking poise because he is not sufficiently motivated to actually stay cool on the inside. Acting differently than how you feel in the heat of competition is not easy. Failure to do so is likely, at least in part, because the competitor does not understand how his self-control and his self-talk impacts his performance. (They are critical components of a best-effort performance.) If he would “act as if…he is confident and in control,” his performance would greatly improve.

Faking self-control may help a little, but the athlete who does so has thoughts that are not faking anything. On the inside, he is a mess. His body language/self-talk loop is fractured. Not only does performance suffer despite the appearance of poise, but his lack of awareness makes a conscious adjustment impossible. The stage is set for a big negative snowball effect! “Fake it ’til you make it” may rhyme nicely, but it is not nearly as powerful as “acting as if….” Consistent performers maintain confidence and control on the inside, making the outward demonstration of poise second nature.

It is useful to think of self-control as a measurable variable called hype level. This refers to how interested and excited an athlete is. It is also how intense, how aggressive, and yes, how nervous he is. Being hyped affects many physiological variables including breathing, adrenaline, heart rate and rhythm, direction of blood flow (in other words, how much blood is flowing to your big muscle groups rather than your organs), muscle tension (including posture), perspiration, and vision. It will also affect many variables in an athlete’s mental game including focus, perception of time, confidence, attitude, and rhythm.

Think of hype level as somewhere on a dial from 0 to 10, where 0 is asleep and 10 is a wild, raging maniac like the Tasmanian Devil from the cartoons. Part of an athlete’s job is to find that spot on the dial where he performs his best for each particular task. When he is too hyped, he will lack the control needed to execute at his best. He might rush, be tight, or try to do too much, among other mistakes. If he is too low, he will lack energy, aggressiveness, and intensity. Two people can have different ideal hype levels for the same task, just as one person can have two different optimal levels for two different tasks. Most athletes perform most fine motor-skill tasks like hitting, pitching, or shooting best with a hype number between five and seven.

It is every athlete’s challenge to figure out his ideal hype level for the task at hand, and then get himself as close to that level as possible. Many athletes with limited awareness and discipline perform up to their potential only when their hype number happens to land near its optimal level. Their performance is dependent on their environment and their recent past. Superior skill in the mental game takes uncontrollables out of the equation as much as possible. Great athletes figure out how to prepare; they know how to get themselves close to their ideal performance state.

Sometimes, it is useful to "dial it up." Motivated is an attitude and attitudes come from thoughts, so an athlete can raise his hype level by focusing on particular thoughts. For example, he might think about how great it will feel to give his best effort when the lights are shining the brightest. Maybe remembering the sacrifices he and others have made to provide this opportunity will give him juice. Perhaps he is ultra-competitive, and he can simply remind himself of the importance of what he is doing. Maybe it is the potential rewards that drive him, or perhaps it is the fear of criticism or mistakes. Great competitors hate to lose and they know that winning comes from finding a way to prepare themselves better than their competition. There are specific keys for every athlete and with awareness, a systematic strategy for staying motivated can be built.

During competition, it is more typical that athletes want to dial-it down, rather than ramp it up. Here are some strategies within gathering or pre-performance routines that may be worth trying:

• Take a deep breath.
• Use a focal point – stare at something emotionally neutral and use it as a symbol to remember whatever is useful, like “Trust my teammates and just do my job on this next pitch.”
• Use positive self-talk to take the pressure off and increase confidence. Ultimately, all mental skills training is designed to help with this issue. Here are some popular power phrases:

• • "I've done this many times before."
  • "My best effort is always good enough."
  • "They're probably scared of what I’m about to do."
  • “I’ve earned this opportunity.”
  • "Just do what I do."

• Imagine your PPPP – your personal past peak performance
• Lean on your routine to promote full preparedness and comfort, and to help you get lost in the process of what you are doing.
• Visualize an expanse of the color blue. Hey, it may seem weird, but be pragmatic: if it works, do it!

Ten-time national champion coach John Wooden said that poise is just being yourself, rather than fighting yourself. It is being at ease in any situation. He had confidence in his players because he knew that when talented athletes are poised and confident, they are amazingly powerful. Any person can be at ease in any situation if he has the discipline to do things right…if he has the discipline to give his best effort one step at a time, accept whatever happens, and then do it again.

Note: This article is related to the content in Elite Athlete Audio #15 - Poise and #17 - "Act as if..." For more information or to purchase Elite Athlete Audios, go here: