Go, do

‘Go, do’ is an idea about how children can compete with happy, functional minds.

FEAR IS THE ENEMY

For many kids, competition paralyses them.  The body may be willing, but the mind is in a state of turmoil.  It is almost impossible to fully control and execute complex skills when we’re anxious and worried.    

Not all emotions are bad for competition.  Excitement and happiness are excellent states for us to get the most out of our abilities.  How can we promote positive energy?

If we strip competition back to its most basic functions, we arrive at: go, and do. 

There are three questions that underpin ‘Go, do’:

• what am I feeling
• what do I think about
• what drives my performance

If I want to be excited about the possibilities of competition and not afraid of failure, then the obvious response to ‘what am I feeling’ would be ‘good’.  If I would like to feel good, then what I think about becomes important.  Racing makes me anxious so the very last thing I should think about is racing.  Think about anything else, or nothing at all.  Lastly, I need to accept that I have nothing to be afraid of because there is no ‘magic’ at work during competition.  I work hard in training, so I can expect to race well because training drives performance.  I am what I am.  Nothing more and nothing less.

What’s the race plan?  That’s easy: run, swim, or cycle as fast as you can.  Spend it all.  Learn to get the most out of yourself by performing without fear.

It is important for coaches and parents to understand that before we can learn to control performance, we must gain access to all the buttons and levers.  We don’t do that by managing details but by learning to ‘swing without fear’.  Cleverness in racing and performance takes time and doesn’t need to be programmed.  It is learned as the mind opens up.  Begin by asking your children to just ‘do’ and do with 100% effort.  Go, do.