On The Firing Line
Physical – Technical – Mental – Emotional Part 4 (58th in a series)
BY JP O’CONNOR “Heroes and cowards feel the same fear; heroes just act differently.”
The so-called “mental game” includes many facets, such as goal setting, mental rehearsal, mental activation level (called arousal level in the literature), self-talk, and attention control, among many others. Combining the physical, technical, and
is but one example of a uni- versal emotion (or emotional block). Learning and utiliz- ing the emotional aspects of performance provide many of the “missing pieces” in our quest for excellence in competition.
vate a person; they can only hope to inspire the athlete. Athletes must “keep in
touch” with themselves, their desires, and their pri- orities. If a goal is impor- tant, work for it. If you are unwilling to do the work, is the goal real, or merely a
fl ow of positive emotional energy. It fuels our passion and work. It brings us warm feelings of
love, comfort,
and confi dence. When we have put in the time and ef- fort and have a strong fl ow of positive emotional energy, we are “on top of the world” and can achieve the seem- ingly impossible.
There are blocks to this
positive fl ow, and they are fatal to high performance. Champions learn how to be- come aware of and resolve these blocks in order to reach their goals. Anger
is a block that
mental aspects of perfor- mance is very important. There is a fourth major as- pect required to complete the puzzle: the emotional components of performing with excellence while under pressure. Don’t worry, guys, we are
not going to ask you to get in touch with your “softer side” or anything of the sort. Have you ever been angry? That
Emotional Why do athletes and
coaches do what they do? Why do they invest all the long, lonely hours of toil? They do this because they are motivated to achieving a goal that is important to them. Motivation can come only from within the individu- al. Their desire drives them. Coaches, parents, and fel- low athletes cannot moti-
52 USA Shooting News | September 2014
dream or wish? Be honest with yourself. Be honest with others. Set goals that mean something to you. Then, the goal will pull you willingly toward success, instead of seeming to be an obstacle or unachievable. When we desire some-
thing, when we feel moti- vated to work for something, when we are happy and confi dent, there is a strong
takes place when reality does not meet our expecta- tions. We want that perfect shot, and too often become angry when our shot does not result in a clean bust or a deep ten. Our reac- tion then ensures the next shot is no better, and often worse. Then we really get angry! Self-destruction and a meltdown is the typical re- sult. Become aware of your emotions and of their pro- found effect on your perfor- mance, which in turn affects the outcomes. Fear of failure or embar- rassment is another emo- tional block. We become unable to think, move, or even breathe. We also be- come infl exible and unable to adapt to the demands of
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