This month we are going to use a
slightly different format. Instead of addressing one topic in
depth, I’d like to respond to the two questions I am most often
asked on the tournament trails I visit.
Q 1: So, I don’t get it. The touring pros say that
maintaining a positive attitude is a key element in their success.
However, I read in this column and elsewhere about the importance
of being critical of one’s own performance and of focusing on
negative or problem areas. Which is it? You can’t be positive
and negative at the same time, can you?
A: You bring up a good point. On the face of it, this
presents an impossible dilemma. However, let’s consider this
issue from a couple different perspectives.
If you think of “positive” and “negative” in conventional
terms, what performance psychology tells us is that there is a
time and place for both.
On tournament days, you primarily want to bring your positive
attitude into play. Expecting a fish on the next cast allows you
to focus intently on each and every presentation, for example. If
you lose a fish, instead of becoming negatively frustrated, you
can tell yourself things like, “Well, I know the fish are
here,” or, “I’ve got the bait and retrieve they want.” If
the fish you found in practice don’t go immediately, you can
maintain a positive expectation of success and optimistically
focus on alternate spots, lures or presentation angles.
As we have mentioned in previous columns, negative emotions tend
to diminish intellectual flexibility and creative thinking, and in
the midst of competition, you want to remain positive so as to
have all your cognitive and intuitive resources available.
The time to be critical of your performance is between tournaments
or during the offseason. Instead of using positive euphemisms
like, “One more fish and I would have been in the money,”
candidly ask yourself, “Why didn’t I catch one more fish?”
We have to learn from our mistakes, and the best way to do that is
to carefully pick apart each tournament day and notice what went
wrong. If you left a spot too soon, and someone came in behind you
and caught them, ask yourself why you decided to leave when you
did. Lost fish, equipment failures and lapses in judgment present
opportunities to self-reflect and improve. Ignore these to your
own detriment.
At an entirely different level, however, it is possible to go
beyond traditional conceptualizations of “positive” and
“negative.” When exceptional athletes describe their best
performances, when they are truly “in the zone,” notions of
positive or negative, good or bad, even winning or losing, seem to
disappear from consciousness. Instead, top performers become
focused on and absorbed by the activity itself.
In tournament fishing, competitors talk about repeatedly making
casts that feel perfect, of being intimately in tune with nature,
and of knowing intuitively what the fish are doing and where the
next bite will come from. In such a mental state, anglers
naturally and effortlessly make major as well as minor
adjustments, often without conscious thought or effort and
certainly without resorting to positive or negative judgments.
“Attentive detachment” and “focused concentration” are
phrases that performance psychology uses to describe this mental
state. It is a level of consciousness you can cultivate, with
practice, independent of your religious orientation, by the way.
Q 2: I’ve tried to learn some relaxation techniques
like you talk about, and I’ve had some success with deep
breathing and with positive visualization to calm myself when I
get upset. However, I’m an excitable guy, and while I can get
relaxed for a few moments, it doesn’t last very long. Maybe
these exercises aren’t for me. What do you think?
A: What I think is that you are exactly the kind of
person who needs to continue to practice relaxation and
visualization techniques! Your question implies a couple of
important points. Let’s consider both.
To begin with, excitable people, and I am one of them, make quick,
and at times, impulsive decisions. There is a fine line between
rapidly changing your mind in an intuitive, constructive way and
being reckless, careless and rash. Excitable people – more so
than calm, deliberate individuals – need to proactively
cultivate a serene, composed frame of mind so that we can make
good, clear decisions based on a comprehensive, inclusive sense of
what needs to happen.
Sure, you can remember times when you made a good decision when
you were excited, but your friends, fellow competitors and
certainly your significant other will remind you of many more
times when you made foolish mistakes by acting on the basis of
your immediate, excited feelings. Certainly it takes work and
practice, but being able to calm yourself when you should is
absolutely necessary for good judgment and sound decision-making.
My response to your statement that you can get relaxed for a few
moments, but it doesn’t last is, “So what does last?” Think
of relaxation exercises as cultivating your mental strength. In
order to become mentally strong, you need repeated practice.
If you go to the gym three times a week for six months and lift
weights, your arms and legs will get stronger. If you stop going,
your muscles will eventually atrophy, and you’ll get weaker. No
surprise there.
Same thing with mental exercises; do them regularly and your
psyche will strengthen. Do them occasionally or stop altogether
and you will revert to your usual pattern.
Next month we will discuss how you can become more creative in
your approach to tournament fishing. Also, if you have other
questions you would like answered in this column, feel free to
send them along.
