The Secret of High Performance Focus
Paula Naeff
?? High Performance Coach ?? Elevating College Football Players to Peak Performance ?? High Performance, Resilience & Confidence for Athletes & Dancers ?? Speed, Strength, Vision ?? Running Back NFL Accelerator Program
“You control your own wins and losses.” said Maria Sharapova.
She’s seen it all - she’s experienced it all – the highs of victory, the lows of defeat, and the absolute determination of being a high performing athlete.
If there’s one thing that stands out in Maria Sharapova and in every top performer, it’s the ability to take control of the mind that creates movement in the body - the ability to focus
Focus isn’t some mystical power?
It’s a skill that to be worked on
The Importance of Focus - at the Crucial Moment
Imagine you’re in the final moments of an intense game - an intense performance. The crowd is roaring - holding their breath, your heart is pounding, and the pressure is immense.?
Laser sharp focus felt easy in the beginning. A lot has happened. Everyone is at their physical and mental limit …?
In these moments, focus isn’t just important – it’s everything.?
It’s what separates the great from the extraordinary, the winners from the almost-winners. Focus is the ability to tune out distractions and home in on what truly matters, enabling you to perform at your best when it counts the most.
During those last few minutes.
Tools to Return to Focus
Let’s face it, every athlete is trained to focus - every human has moments of laser focus in their lives, yet even the best of us get distracted. It can be a sound, a thought, a color, a strand of hair on your face … and it only lasts a fraction of a second. But that tiny fraction can be the crucial one.
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When the distraction happens it’s too late to start thinking of a strategy to return your focus. This work has to be done beforehand. Returning your focus is the result of consistent practice of various tools and techniques, built over time. Practiced and rehearsed. Just like your physical body.
Here’s some tools to experiment with
Meditation - It prepares your mind for clarity and peace. Now you don’t need to get into a lotus position in the middle of a game to find your focus … although that would be entertaining. A consistent practice of meditation prepares your mind, body and spirit to perform in any situation with clarity of mind and ease of movement.
Breath - The power of a single breath is immense. Practice and rehearse taking one single conscious breath (short or long - it doesn’t matter) and associate this single breath with returning to focus in your mind and body. This association becomes a sign for you, a reminder to ignore distractions. Rehearsing it in moments of calm will allow you to use this tool during practice and game, performance or competition as well.?
Visualization - This is one of the most powerful tools for success and joy. For laser focus and flow. Closing your eyes - using the power of your mind - imagine yourself in the game, on the field, at the competition. Make the image tangible for your senses and let your emotions loose. Visualize yourself moving with ease, with laser focus and clear mind. Imagine your success and how you feel. Once you open your eyes, remember to take the feelings with you. Elevating your energy and creating readiness for the actual moment of a game, of high performance.
The Importance of Humor and Lightness
Focus is important but it doesn’t mean being so serious all the time. Being able to have a clear mind, yet approaching any practice, game, performance or competition with an energy of playfulness and lightness makes it all so much more enjoyable and fun. And isn’t that really the point of ‘playing’ a game? Doing something you love and truly enjoy, and transmitting this powerful positive emotion to your audience and spectators.
Focus is key. It isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being present and giving your best in the moments that matter most.
So, the next time you find your mind wandering, take a breath, refocus, and get ready to shine.
Thank you for reading.
Coach Paula
Email me at [email protected] for Athlete High Performance programs and more tips.
Nice article Paula Naeff. I would add the ability to shrug off the mistakes and mental errors very quickly. They don't waste time thinkin g about why the mistake happened, and then waste energy and beating themselves up over a mistake. The high performers never lose sight of the end goal regardless of any mistakes made during the event.
I CAN - not despite my bipolarness but because of it??Founder-The Gifted Bipolar Writer?? 5x Best Selling Co-Author/ Anthology Publisher/ Audio Room & Live Show Host "NIC - Never In Control" Works at Island Elevator ??
5 个月I really enjoyed this article! “Focus is not about being perfect, it’s about being present” Paula Naeff ????
It pains me to see how your team's potential is being waisted! International Speaker I Corporate Trainer I Leaders, Managers: Add the Glue Element to your Identity and get a Sticky, Motivated and Unstoppable TEAM.
5 个月Oh Paula Naeff! You brought me back to the time when I was on Team Canada and my coach would purposely give us a situation at the end of practice, when he knew we were more tired - it's a tied game, it's our last posession and we HAVE to score to win. Sometimes, it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it sure trained us to the times it happened for real.
Great article! This weekend I was watching on Netflix a movie about young and promising tennis players. I was impressed by the mental training that Iga Swiatek was having. Focus is trainable indeed. We are more capable than our own mind thinks. By training our minds, we push the limits to what we can achieve more and more.