Mental Attitude by Lijia Xu
Book Extract
The sharpest edge is psychology and sailing is at least 80% mental. Try to have the same discipline in your mental practice as you have in your physical practice. By using mental training strategies, we can gain more control over what happens during important competitions by being completely prepared in mind, body, and spirit. The pictures in the mind determine the atmosphere of a person’s world. So first of all, learn to see yourself as a winner and a competent athlete. The true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment so focus your full attention on what’s happening right at this moment! Think with your heart and recondition it into a positive and learning mode.
Our life is spent thinking. What we focus on and work on, we can create. The judgement begins within us, so why not let positive thinking be your guide? Only we have control over our own behaviour and the only behaviour that we can change is our own. Take control of your own life and don’t rely on others to save you or to make things happen for you. Be an initiator, be proactive rather than reactive. That is to say, to initiate a play or move instead of waiting to respond. Take your time to enjoy, to learn, to experience each movement and moment. Have fun and enjoy your life. You can have fun but still be serious.
For the mental training to work best, we must practise it often. Be willing to take risks, to reach, and to move beyond old beliefs and fears that surround you. Do something new and let go of the worries about looking or feeling stupid. Be in the present moment and let go of the past, breathe in when you are tense or scared, have fun and enjoy, participate 100 percent without fear of failure.
Risk is the ability to take chances. Be willing to risk failure or lose face in order to surpass a record that stood for decades. Confront the fear instead of avoiding it. By letting ourselves be seen, by letting ourselves do something different, we grow. Sometimes the process of taking risks is as important as the outcome. By feeling calm and confident, we create a positive atmosphere. Be patient with yourself and trust the whole process: our team has helped us and our family or friends have supported us.
Whenever something goes wrong, accept it, let it go, and return your internal focus to the event. Use your performance as a learning experience. Remember to breathe slowly and deeply. Feel yourself being totally relaxed, confident and in complete control of both body and mind. Make an effort to breathe deeply and to create a more relaxed state of mind. Receive acknowledgement from others, be the master of your emotions, acknowledge the feelings and then drop them, refocus on the task in hand and stay in the present moment.
My views on this subject were influenced by The Mental Athlete by K Porter and With Winning in Mind by L R Bassham, which I highly recommend.
© Not to be reproduced without written permission from Fernhurst Books Limited.
Golden Lily is written by Lijia Xu. Lijia (or Lily) was born in Shanghai in 1987. Her sports career started at the age of 5 when she was accepted by the Changning District Swimming Team. Her interest in sailing began in 1997 after being approached by the Shanghai Optimist Sailing Coach. From the age of 10 Lijia travelled all year round to sail and train; becoming a full-time sailor shortly after her 10th birthday. She twice won the Optimist World Championships. She won a bronze medal in the Laser radial in Beijing 2008 and gold in London 2012.