Really good stuff. One size doesn't fit all. It's what makes us human and not robots or clones. We can expand this in so many directions. Learning to harness our own tendencies can be a real challenge.
This definitely helped me understand my own emotions when it comes to performance, when to tap into what emotions depending on the competition, and better coach other athletes on emotional competence. Thanks as always Steve!!
Swimming is a useful edge case for this taxonomy. Behind the blocks you get maybe twenty seconds of enforced stillness — no rally to play your way into a state, no changeover to regroup. That makes your upstream point load-bearing: once the starter calls the field up, regulation after the fact is over, and whatever state you are in is the state you race in. And anger's signature in the water is uniquely expensive. Clenched shoulders do not just feel bad; they break the streamline, so the drag penalty shows up in the clock. Which is why swimmers may be the clearest demonstration of your 'aimed at the next action' criterion — productive anger has to be aimed at something mechanical, the breakout or the turn, or it converts straight into reactive rage with a hydrodynamic bill attached.
Really good stuff. One size doesn't fit all. It's what makes us human and not robots or clones. We can expand this in so many directions. Learning to harness our own tendencies can be a real challenge.
Thanks! Yes, we’re human and we’ve got to deal with that messiness…the good, bad, and in-between. That’s what makes it so hard and fun.
This definitely helped me understand my own emotions when it comes to performance, when to tap into what emotions depending on the competition, and better coach other athletes on emotional competence. Thanks as always Steve!!
I think this photo says it all..
Swimming is a useful edge case for this taxonomy. Behind the blocks you get maybe twenty seconds of enforced stillness — no rally to play your way into a state, no changeover to regroup. That makes your upstream point load-bearing: once the starter calls the field up, regulation after the fact is over, and whatever state you are in is the state you race in. And anger's signature in the water is uniquely expensive. Clenched shoulders do not just feel bad; they break the streamline, so the drag penalty shows up in the clock. Which is why swimmers may be the clearest demonstration of your 'aimed at the next action' criterion — productive anger has to be aimed at something mechanical, the breakout or the turn, or it converts straight into reactive rage with a hydrodynamic bill attached.
Acknowledging and emphasizing individual strengths, weaknesses, and needs elevates a good coach to a great one, in my opinion.
Typo. “We need “
Thanks! I'm just one human here doing it all.