Built for survival... but it's not always helpful!

From day one we are designed and 'programmed' to survive. Like most animals we are vulnerable at birth and need the protection from parents. However, unlike most other animals we need protection for a lot longer due to the need of being born underdeveloped; the transition from walking on four to two limbs resulted in a smaller pelvis and larger brains (you work out the birthing mechanics!). This links in with my previous post about how essential our caregivers are in terms of managing and developing the underdeveloped brain, our emotions, connections with the body, etc. Anyhow, our built-in survival mechanisms are essential, everything from our relatively big eyes to the uncomfortable and disturbing cries.

So what has this got to do with SPORT and PERFORMANCE?? Well, as described above our fear responses are very well honed and developed to ensure our survival, and indeed we share these with other animals. These same fear responses are triggered even when there may not be the life or death dangers of our ancestors or that of a new-born baby. We can also consider them to be 'threats and dangers'. The threats and dangers of modern life (lets put COVID -19 to one side for a moment) are quite different to

that of our ancestors, yet because they are the same neurological and biological processes it can feel the same as a potential attack from a bear. Modern day threats and dangers, and especially those in a sporting arena, are likely to be the threat of making a mistake, the fear of failure, a social threat (embarrassment), etc. Often the closer we get to success the greater the fear of failing – because we have more to lose!

At the most basic level anxiety and fear arise when we believe 'something bad is going to happen’, and that when it does we will not be able to cope (‘eaten by a bear’). The exact nature of 'bad' can obviously vary (embarrassment, fail, lose a game, not play well, not get picked for a team etc.) but the other element is always true, that it is GOING to happen, i.e. in the future. Furthermore, the overestimation of danger and our underestimation of our ability to cope are also key factors.

As in the last blog, when we experience these strong feelings our functioning and performance significantly reduces. Therefore, when we feel anxious and fearful it can be very helpful to;

- manage the feeling

- look for evidence that ‘the bad thing is going to happen’, can we really predict the future?

- how likely is it that it will happen?

- what is our ability to cope if it did happen?

- what is the worst that would happen if it did happen? Get things in perspective.

- is there anything we can do to prevent / reduce the chance of it happening?

More often than not if we can manage our feelings (calm the emotional parts of the brain) we can use the thinking parts of the brain more, think things through, problem solve, function better, and ultimately perform better!

Take a few moments to reflect on a time when your survival mechanisms may not have been helpful, and then think about what you can do differently next time.

Always happy to help, see you soon. Paul.