The previous edition of this newsletter reviewed a research study investigating how big wave surfers respond to threat and discussed possible implications of the study’s findings.
We left off the conversation wondering what factors contribute to these athletes’ enhanced ability to become aware of, evaluate, and respond to threat in their environment. Is it a built in set of characteristics, a result of the environment that these athletes grew up in, a product of their training, or something else?
Here’s how I break it down from a psychological perspective.
Ability matters, but it’s not enough
We have individual limits on certain things we can do naturally. Our ceiling is higher for some things than it is for others. Training and other factors aside, some people can just jump higher, swim faster, draw better, or lift heavier than others. I think this applies for the study in question. Some surfers may just start at a higher baseline.
So in some sense, the differences in brain activation patterns observed are probably due to a certain level of ability. The big wave group may have a more natural propensity toward processing and evaluating threat more quickly than their non big wave counterparts. Their brains are likely wired in a way that leaves them more naturally able to excel while bombing massive waves.
But humans don’t live in a vacuum, and success is not contingent on ability alone.
I view performance excellence as the result of strong fundamentals, combined with thorough preparation, and trust in oneself. Mental performance mirrors physical performance. Just as one develops a strong foundation on which to build physical skills, practices them with focus and attention, and eventually learns to trust in their body to execute these well trained skills, the same is true from a mental standpoint.
For surfers, this might be using mindfulness practices to develop the fundamental skill of attentional shifting and energy management. Thorough preparation may include the implementation of imagery and goal setting, and managing one’s relationship with fear. Trust, on the other hand, is a culmination of composure, concentration, and confidence (Stevenson & Moore, 1994).
Each of these stages uses different tools to promote the development of different skills. Thus, from a sport psych perspective, the questions we are trying to answer are 1) what are the abilities needed to excel, and 2) what tools can we use to help enhance them? Ability is fixed, but skills can be developed. Attention, energy management, how you relate to fear, composure, concentration, and acting with genuine confidence are all skills that can be trained. In other words, ability doesn’t need to cap your potential for performance.
Maximizing potential
Even if you aren’t preparing to get towed into Nazare or Mavericks, proper training, effort, and a willingness to push through discomfort and adversity are what maximizes performance potential in any area.
Proper training
The mind and body are both extremely adaptable, especially when *properly* challenged. Training is different than “working out” in that it targets hyper specific areas of performance, and is progressive, challenging you to reach just outside your current level of ability.
It’s not just going through the motions, but being deliberate and focused on the mechanics of the task. Practice doesn’t make perfect—perfect makes perfect. So practice with the goal of perfecting the small things, the fundamentals.
Effort
Maximizing potential (and even excelling beyond what you thought was possible) is never going to be easy, but the body and brain need to be stressed in order to grow. A good example of how effort can guide training is using a rating of perceived exertion scale (RPE).
Having hard, medium, and light days built into your training plan can help you make sure you are still pushing yourself without overdoing. There are plenty of RPE scales available, but here’s an example below.
You can even try changing or adding to the descriptors to match the task at hand. For example, if your a high level executive, you might associate “Easy” with “Answering emails for 30 minutes.”
Willingness to push through adversity
Willingness to push through adversity is often interchanged with terms like grit, fortitude, hardiness, resilience, or perseverance. I’m here to tell you that it’s all of these and probably more. But it doesn’t matter what you call it. What matters is what you are doing. Performance is a behavior. That means 1) recognizing when adversity presents itself and 2) accepting the challenge for what it is.
But wait! ⚠️ This doesn’t mean just mean do harder! Yes, in some instances, it might require a little bit more effort. But if you are constantly maxing yourself out with your current plan, it might be time for a new strategy. Dealing with adversity is not just about proper training and effort, but also about strategy, creativity, and patience.
Know when to push through, know when to ease up, and know when to reroute toward your goal. This is beauty of high performance.
Final thoughts
It’s difficult to answer the question of built different versus well trained, but perhaps they are two sides of the same coin? Performance is not an “all or nothing, have it or you don’t” situation. It’s harnessing the abilities you do have and tailoring them to meet the demands of your environment. However, in the ocean and other environments that rapidly change, adaptability can be a major ally. More on adaptability coming up next.