The ideal performance state is different for everyone. Very few athletes are interested in using sport as a vehicle for their own transformation. When we talk about transformation we are talking about a shift inside under the skin or our mental state. That transformation is very scary to most people because it is about emptying all identifications – past, present or future.
We also much discuss doing sport in the space of excellence which includes doing it for the love of it. There is value in loving the pressure because it teaches you about yourself and your fears and many other egoisms that must be dropped if you are to reach your potential. However, love is the driving force behind the training, not fear of losing. An athlete training from this mode of emptying or getting self out of the way learns to master themselves in situations and perform at a high level, never reaching there so-called goal because the goal is no longer important – it is the journey towards excellence that drives them. In this process, the process is more important than the outcome. In other words, how you do what you do is more important than what you are doing. If it is all about you, you learn nothing about your self and your own transformation as a human being, and you then will identify with your performance and miss the glory of sport. Karl Marks said religion is the opiate of the masses – today it is sport. Just like religion, whose purpose was to awaken man to a different way of living, so was sport. It used to be about the character of people and the Olympic Games were about picking the person who showed the greatest character. Are not the best stories about the people who face the greatest odds and conquer themselves and won, the stories we remember most about the games? The Jamaican bobsled team, the African swimmer. These are the stories that we hold dear in our heart and what we know it is really all about. Don't listen to the outside but follow what is in our hearts what we love to do. Then doing it from a new mindset of training from the inside out, being the best opponent, learning to do all that you can to die to your ego. Following the love of the game, with passion and insecurity.
All wisdom is found in insecurity and being comfortable there. Athletes' daily practice is making themselves uncomfortable in all situations and learning from that discomfort.
Coach Bri
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