The Fundamentals of Mental Performance Coaching
Racers agree that the Mental aspects of racing are important. Most agree that the mind plays a bigger and bigger role as one ascends through the classes. You’ll often hear conversations at the track about the mental game, choking or someone being “a head case.” Additionally, riders deal with anxiety, doubts and fears that show up at the races and on the starting line.
Even at the professional level Mental Coaching is the most neglected area of training and development for a racer. What do you do for Mental training? If you’re like most racers you’ll say something like, “I think positive, focus and visualize winning.” The question is, are you practicing that consistently, and is what you are doing working?
Enter the Mysterious World of Mental Performance Coaching
Mental Performance Coaching is NOT about controlling your mind or changing your mindset, attitude, or outlook. Our approach at MX Coach is unique and for over 20 years we’ve been coaching racers, athletes and leaders with breakthrough success.
First Step: Context is about getting clear on what you are out to accomplish, really! When I ask new students this question, I get some version of: “To finish in the top ten.” That’s playing a very safe and predictable game. Instead, we coach a racer to free up their imagination and vision to look and see what would really be inspiring to experience and accomplish in racing. I’ve never met any racer who was really inspired to get in the top ten. Racers want to win! Don’t you?
Consider that you are already limiting yourself and what is possible by playing the game of “doing the best you can” or incremental improvement. We coach our students to unravel and come face-to-face with their limiting beliefs and world views. This impacts our students to create futures that are truly inspiring!
Second Step: A New Inquiry is about looking beyond speed. The #1 question most racers ask is: “How do I go faster?” This is a self-limiting question. Do you really think all it takes is speed to win a championship? We open our students up to a different and more powerful inquiry – “What does it look to Be a Champion?” Who do you need to Be and what championship level actions do you need to take to realize the context – what you said you want to experience and accomplish in racing? This question becomes the touchstone to open up opportunities for action that were previously not seen.
Third Step: The Power of One’s Word is having the courage and commitment to say what will happen and by when, without knowing how to accomplish it. Break out of the world of improvement and use your word to create new futures that are not predictable. Declaring “this shall be” transforms who you are as a person and opens you up to a world of possibilities.
At MX Coach the most powerful thing we coach, train and develop our racers to be is the kind of person who says “this shall be” and it happens!