This is an approach that is often followed in sports but it can also be applied in other fields. Many athletes aim to channel their energy in a positive way. They focus on:
Doing their best whilst not worrying
about any competitors doing their best.
Such athletes often talk about controlling the controllables. They aim: a) to do their best in a situation; b) to build on what they can control; c) to manage their responses to any things they can’t control.
Looking back, can you think of a situation where you may have followed elements of this approach? You may have been going for an interview, pitching for business or doing another activity.
What did you do then focus on doing your best without worrying about other people’s efforts? How did you channel your energy in a positive way?
Different people follow this approach in different ways. Some people aim to focus on their strengths, follow strategies that work and do their best to achieve their picture of success. Let’s look at another approach that some people follow.
Channelling Your Champ
Rather Than Your Chimp
Some people aim to channel their inner champ rather than their inner chimp. What does this mean? Steve Peters, who wrote The Chimp Paradox, has helped many athletes to manage their chimp.
Their chimp can take many forms. It can be self-doubt, irrational emotion and negative self-talk. Steve helps them to manage these impulses. He also encourages athletes to make specific plans for performing at their best.
Another approach is for a person to channel their champ rather than their chimp. This can involve taking the following steps.
Clarifying Your Champ
Everybody has a positive history when they may have delivered the equivalent of championship performances. So it can be useful for a person to explore when they have performed brilliantly, even if this was only for a few minutes.
They may have been encouraging another person, managing a crisis, completing a piece of work or whatever. What did they do right then to perform superbody?
Different coaches and educators use different questions to help people learn from such experiences. Whatever words they use, however, they often help people to explore their strengths and successful style.
They encourage the person to build from within, which is the organic approach. If appropriate, they also help them to add other skills to reach their goals. They may begin by asking the person some of the following questions.
When have you performed brilliantly? What were you doing right then? What were the principles you were following? How can you follow these principles – plus maybe add other skills – to perform brilliantly in the future?
Good counsellors may take this approach when working with individuals who are experiencing difficulties. Whilst acknowledging the person’s feelings, they invite them to recall when they have dealt with challenges successfully. They may say something like the following.
Looking back, when have you encountered a similar challenge and come through it successfully?
What did you do right then? What were the principles you followed to tackle the challenge successfully?
You already have the strength and successful patterns within you. So let’s explore how you might follow these principles – plus maybe add other skills – to tackle the present challenge.
Peak performers follow a similar route. They constantly recall their best performances. They know that following similar principles can ensure they do the basics and achieve 8+/10.
Such people then aim to add the brilliance and achieve 10/10. They build on their champ rather than get distracted by their chimp.
Channelling Your Champ In The Future
Good teams also use this approach to keep developing. One football team used it, for example, to improve the way they finished games.
The team’s manager was concerned that, on several occasions, the players had failed to close out games when they were leading by the odd goal. They had drawn or lost games where, with ten minutes to play, they were leading 1-0 or 2-1.
The players forgot to do the basics. They became paralysed and kept watching the clock, hoping for the game to end. This led to the other team scoring and taking over the game.
The manager had a choice. One option was to rip into them for forgetting to do the basics. Taking this route, however, may have increased their sense of fear. So he chose another route.
The manager invited the team to build on its strengths. The team recalled the matches when they had led by one goal with ten minutes to go and went on to win.
The players recalled what they had done right to keep playing, rather than become paralysed, and win the game. They then focused on how to follow these guidelines in the future. It worked. The team learned how to stay calm and go on to win the games.
People sometimes want to deliver their equivalent of championship performances. Some singers want to do this, for example, when making a record or performing at a particular concert. Let’s look at one example.
Several years ago I worked with a singer who felt concerned about doing a gig. Looking back, we explored when they had done a good performance. What did they do right then?
They chose a song that played to their strengths … They rehearsed properly … They breathed deeply before going on stage … They clicked into gear … They served the song rather than worried about the audience reaction.
Looking ahead, we explored how they could do these things in the future. The aim was to build organically. They knew what worked, so we built on these beliefs. They settled on the specific things they could do to deliver their equivalent of championship performance.
The singer followed their successful pattern. They followed their ritual for moving in action, walked on stage and served the song. This led to a fine reaction from the audience.
Doing Your Best In The Future
Let’s return to your own life and work. Can you think of a situation where you may want to do your best rather than worry about any competitors or even a chimp?
How can you channel your positive energy? How can you prepare properly? How can you build on your strengths and follow your successful style? How can you then perform at your best?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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