Contact Us | Privacy Statement       Quick Links: Find Your Focus Zone Resources  |  Articles |  Past Newsletters  |  Additional Links     Table of Contents Read Chapter 1   How Olympic Athletes Stay Focused By Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD When Robert Nideffer, PhD. and Betty Wenz, PhD. were hired as sports psychologists for the U.S. Olympic track and field team training for the games in Seoul, they introduced themselves to the athletes in a memo, listing the services they could provide. Here’s what topped the list: #1. We are available to help you develop and strengthen ways for “psyching yourself up or down,” as the case may be. The elite athletes in training for the Olympics knew exactly what they meant. Bored, Hyper, or in Your Focus Zone? To compete in a world-class event such as the Olympics, athletes must endure long hours of dedicated practice for years leading up to the games. Understimulated, they struggle to keep their focus while they train. As the day of the event gets closer and excitement mounts, the problem reverses itself. The contests, pageantry, and media blitz create a constant buzz of overstimulation. Only those who can stay calm enough to concentrate have a chance at winning a medal. While each athlete is different, every athlete faces the challenge of attention control at these two extremes – tiresome hours of technique-perfecting training at one end, and heart-pounding moments at high-pressure events at the other. The winners are those who hone their psychological skills. They know how and when to rev up or calm down. They stay in their focus zone – the relaxed-alert state of just-right stimulation – where attention is best. Our Fast-Paced World Is Like Running a Race In today’s high-speed, quick-click, competitive world, everyone faces these same two extremes. When it’s time to do necessary, repetitive tasks such as clearing clutter, organizing files, and balancing budgets, you feel bored and unmotivated. While at the other extreme, when you’re running late, deadlines are due, and you’re interrupted by constant demands, you feel hyper and overwhelmed. Winners Use Strategy Like an Olympic athlete, hone your psychological skills. Build your awareness of when you’re under- or overexcited. As Drs. Nideffer and Wenz advised, develop and strengthen ways for “psyching yourself up or down,” as the case may be. Strategies You Can Use 1. Encouraging self-talk 2. Mindful breathing 3. Connection to your goals 4. A user-friendly project planner 5. Thoughts of supportive friends and family With a personal repertoire of specific skills and strategies, like a gold-medal winner, you’ll stay in your focus zone. Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD is the author of Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction and Overload (Free Press, 2007).
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