How “Healthy” Competition Can Destroy Your Game
by Travis Pederson CHt.
Every now and then, I hear somebody say “It’s just some good, healthy competition.”
The truth is, the way most people think about competition is neither healthy nor beneficial. When athletes
make competition the most important part of their game, a few things usually happen:
- They experience dramatic ups and downs in their level of performance
- Their confidence takes a nose dive
- They lose their enthusiasm for the game
So…why does this happen?
When you try to compete with others, you begin to focus more on their performance in order to gauge how you must perform in order to beat them. The only problem with this is that as you are focusing on them, you are losing awareness of yourself. You begin making the small, simple mistakes that could cost you the game. Mistakes that could be easily corrected by focusing on yourself instead of every other player.
…Seems a little crazy doesn’t it?
Obviously, you cannot control other players - so it’s no use focusing on them.
The solution is to focus on improving yourself, keeping your mind calm and your body responsive. By focusing on yourself and responding to each play as it happens, you will play more consistently and confidently because you will be focusing on what you can control, instead of what you cannot.
So for your own sake, stop competing with others and instead, pay attention to your own game. Instead of
bragging about how great you are or complaining about how you never get a break, think about how you can continue to improve yourself - whatever level you are at now.
Tags: competition, concentration, focus