Every four years we come together and watch athletes from across the world make their dreams a reality, put on their national jersey, and compete to become the best in the world. The Olympics has its flaws, but there is no denying the magic of seeing the best of the best compete on the biggest stage. Reaching that point is a dream that drives athletes to put their lives on hold, often for little or no money, to see if they can make it.
In my new book Win the Inside Game, I spoke to and surveyed 75+ high performers, many of them Olympians. As I looked for patterns to understand performance at the highest level, one kept popping up. Reaching sustainable excellence at the highest level is about threading the needle between going all-in and imploding. It’s such a big part, that I titled Chapter 6 of the book: Care Deeply, but Be Able to Let Go.
Performing at the highest level is walking a tightrope. Stay on it and glory awaits, but just one or two missteps and disaster awaits. I don’t think this is true just for Olympians; it is something that all great performers face.
Consider the following balancing acts:
Riding the Wave of Adaptation and Exhaustion.
You have to put in enormous amounts of work, even dipping into occasional overreaching to get your body adapt. But if you push a touch too far, over training and injury await. A reckless workout or poorly-timed race can derail your pursuit.
Being Meticulous Without Being Neurotic.
World champion Josh Kerr brought his own mattress topper and waffle maker to the last Olympics. He was optimizing his environment, a key attribute of many elite performers. Yet, this optimization can go too far into neuroticism or perfection. It’s all too easy to move from “I want to eat the same breakfast,” to “I have to eat the same breakfast, or else everything will go wrong.” I’ve witnessed some of the best in the world suffer and implode to misguided perfectionism.
Caring Deeply But Be Able to Let Go.
You’ve got to care deeply to do well in just about anything. But if we take it too far, we move from secure to insecure striving. We start pressing and forcing our performance, instead of letting go just the right amount to do the thing we’ve spent years training to do.
Being Aggressive Without Being Destructive.
In many sports we need a level of aggression when we step into the arena. Yet, taken too far it can make us become reactive, take unnecessary risks, and even lose our minds as rage takes over. For example, research shows that anger can both help and hinder performance. Which way it goes depends on whether we have support from others, and a high level of emotional regulation to keep some of anger’s more negative components at bay.
Giving Your All While Being Relaxed.
To perform well, you’ve got to exert effort, to try as hard as you can. Yet, when you try really hard, you often dig in, grit your teeth, and push harder. Which causes you to tense up, waste energy, and underperform. Once again, there’s a balance here. Elite performers learn that trying harder is often subtle, instead of brash. It’s the sprinter who is putting massive amounts of force into the ground with each stride, all while keeping their face, neck, and shoulders smoothly bouncing along without a hint of tension.
Being Confident Without Being Arrogant.
There’s no doubt about it, you’ve got to believe in yourself. If you don’t have the confidence that you can show up and get the job done on game day, good luck when you step onto the field in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. But once again, if we go too far and adopt a blinding arrogance, it often backfires. We fail to see our weak points, underestimate our opponents, and lose a bit of the edge that comes from seeing yourself as being in a dog fight.
Performing when it matters most is not as easy as the trite advice we’re often given to give it our all, be confident, and so on. Rather, it comes down to a balancing of opposing forces. It’s the requisite threading a needle between too much and too little that makes performing at the highest level so difficult. It’s also what makes it so interesting, as everyone’s balance point will be a bit different.
— Steve
To go deeper on the topic, consider ordering Win the Inside Game. Chapter 6 is all about balancing these opposing forces. Order today and receive all sorts of great bonuses, including an ebook on coaching, a masterclass on mental performance, and The Magness Method of Training.
