We Are A System – Performance Cycles (Free Preview)

Now that we’ve covered that we are a system, and everything works together, there’s a performance cycle within our own system to learn.

Example of a Performance Cycle

Imagine you’re on the ice and you take a shot, but the goalie makes a great save. That situation is not what causes an emotional response; it’s what you tell yourself about that situation. You might think I can’t shoot, or that was a great save, and based on that thought, you’re going to have an emotional response. So, the story you tell yourself creates an emotional response, and then a physiological response is triggered.

Based on what you’re thinking and feeling, you take actions that move you.

Types of Cycles

There are unproductive or unhelpful cycles and productive and helpful cycles. A performance cycle can be as long as a shift, period, game, day, week, or even month. Unproductive and unhelpful cycles are ones that move you further away from your goals. Productive and helpful ones move you closer to your goals and your vision as a player. Which one would you like to be in? Probably the productive one.

Part of being mentally tough is having an awareness of the cycle you’re in. When you’re aware, you can interrupt an unhelpful cycle and stop it sooner.  If you’re playing well, you might not have to do more than check-in with yourself. If it’s a helpful cycle, being aware helps you keep the cycle going. For unproductive cycles, you might have a game where you have to adjust your cycle multiple times in a period and work your training. Sometimes the cycle rolls on, and sometimes it needs adjusting.

Super Dave and Doc Wally have covered that we are a system and how performance cycles work, and now they’re getting detailed. For exploring the difference between cycles, we’ll start with the situation of making a big mistake on the ice, and the whole arena knows it.

An Unproductive Cycle

So you’ve made a mistake, and when you get back on the bench, you think to yourself, I’m in trouble, I screwed up, I have to make up for that. Those thoughts start, and you may feel frustrated, angry, or stressed. When you begin to feel those emotions, you can get overwhelmed and tense. Your thoughts are racing, and muscles are tightening as you get back on the ice. Since you’re so frustrated and you want to make up for your mistake, the first thing you do is run a guy and get a penalty. Now you’re back on the bench and feeling like you’re in real trouble now.

A Productive Cycle

In the same situation, if you change the way you’re thinking about it and approaching it, you can change the cycle to a positive one. Starting with that same feeling of I messed up, and thinking you need to make up for the mistake, you take a breath. By being self-aware, you can begin to focus on what you can control right now, which is your effort on the next shift. There’s nothing you can do about the last shift. Instead, you can stay calm and review what makes you a good player – protecting the puck, moving your feet, and getting to the net. Now you’re focused on the here and now, and you’re prepared to have a solid shift. When you come back to the bench, you’re in a whole different cycle.

Power of Process

Having a process starts before the puck drops on the ice. Without a process in place, if you have a bad shift, it can be easy to spiral. You need a plan for how you want to manage your emotions. Top athletes have plans for managing their emotions and thoughts, and how they want to respond to adversity. They’ve practiced it.