Pigeon holding themselves to a particular outcome or expectations on your performance
Contrary to what coaches teach their athletes, having high expectations, maintaining high, strict expectations can hamper the athlete’s performance. One tennis player that I worked with had high expectations of wanting to always finish first or place high in their tournaments that they were in. Their sole concentration was on their outcome. I teach my students the hazards of strict expectations and how to identify strict expectations. Your objective is to replace expectations or the outcome with manageable objectives of small tasks that you want to accomplish.
Why do expectations limit your performance? First, you set yourself up for a success/failure proposition. You either achieve your expectations or fail to achieve them. Second, if you don’t achieve your predetermined expectations, you tend to question your ability that day-either during or after performance. Essentially, expectations set you up for failure before you even get started.
In addition, expectations are usually about results such as obtaining a specific score or achieving a personal statistics such as achieving a perfect floor score in gymnastics. Athletes usually judge their performance based off of these expectations. In most cases, high expectations also is associated with pressure to achieve whatever expectation that has been set, which in turn cause a decrease in your optimal level for performance.
We will continue with our topic on the mistakes that athletes are making with regards to mentally preparing for their competition. Until then know that mental toughness is a learned skill that needs to be practiced daily and in every opportunity that presents itself.
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