Athletes—and the rest of humankind—can get tangled up in thoughts and emotions that can disrupt and undermine optimal performance and other behaviors.
“Thoughts and feelings are not the currency of performance,” explained Peter Haberl, a senior consulting psychologist with the United States Olympic Team, on his LinkedIn homepage. So, what’s the real currency of athletic execution at the Olympics and other performance venues, according to Haberl, and other sports professionals?
Attention.
Attention to executing the skills required for optimal performance. Dwelling on desired outcomes, self-doubts, etc., or feelings—pleasant and unpleasant—can distract from correct focus and performance. Such off-task mind wandering is something all athletes—child, high school, collegiate, Olympic, and professional—are prone to do because they all happen to be human just like the rest of us.
Haberl served as the senior sport psychologist for the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1998 to 2023. He’s worked at 10 Olympic Games (including the 2024 Games), covering over 30 years with countless medalist teams and athletes. He played Austrian professional hockey for 10 years and represented his native Austria in two hockey World Championships.
He probably knows a little something about elite performance.
Laser attention is essential for success in athletics and everything else we do. Let’s take a closer look at what Haberl and contextual behavioral science have to say regarding the achievement of optimal focus.
The Psychology of Attention
Thoughtful reflection on his experience with elite performers led Haberl to an approach in working with athletes based on acceptance and commitment training (ACT), a theoretical methodology gaining popular prominence amongst sports psychology practitioners.
What’s the starting point of ACT? Awareness. When we’re at our best in sports or anything else, we need to be aware—”exquisitely aware,” as psychologist Kevin Polk, a major contributor to the ACT movement, says. Such awareness requires rapt attention.
Awareness informs us of what we’re doing. It also tells us if what we do is effective, and if we need to change direction if it isn’t working. Our senses give us awareness of what’s going on in the outside world (where sports are played). Our eyes, ears, and sense of touch give attention to the actions we’re doing when performing.
Inside awareness is also critical. Thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, including proprioception (the sense of bodily movement), deliver important information to the athlete/performer. When awareness informs the athlete that they are overthinking something, they can return their attention to the actions required for the successful execution of athletic skills. Similarly, dwelling on emotions can tell the athlete to put their attention back to their actions. Proprioception informs of poor rhythm (too slow or rushed).
All that requires attention.
While that inside information is important to be aware of, getting stuck on it can interfere with ideal performance. Getting unstuck from it can be a tough challenge.
The Mind’s Reckless Abandon
“Because the mind has a tendency to wander off when it matters most in sport, and you’re not aware of it, you’re in big trouble,” said Haberl during a recent presentation to a group of sports psychology professionals.
The mind is a thought and feeling factory that generates a constant flow of words, cognitions, and emotions.
Source: Image courtesy and with subscription permission of Microsoft 365
“My job is to help athletes understand how the mind works so they can work with it,” Haberl continued. “The mind works as a thought and emotion-producing factory, and you have a lot less control over that factory than you think, and it is like a thief that steals something very precious for athletes. Ask athletes ‘What do you think the thief steals?’, and almost always the answer is ‘the feeling of confidence.’”
Wrong answer. “Confidence” is nothing more than the absence of unpleasant feelings and the random. distracting thoughts that can tag along with them. Athletes and other performers are not always going to feel good or confident when competing, and over-focusing on those unpleasant feelings and thoughts will undermine performance.
Attention Essential Reads
“The thief steals something much more precious—peak performance—and the ability to focus on the present moment, and to focus on what matters (the committed actions and skills required of your sport), explained Haberl. “So, I argue that attention is the currency of performance.”
Exactly.
Attention and Awareness at the Super Bowl
Retired NFL punter Britton Colquitt in his Super Bowl days with the Denver Broncos. Super Bowl.
Source: Jeffrey Beall/Wikimedia Commons
“Do you know what it’s like playing in a Super Bowl?” former National Football League punter Britton Colquitt asked me rhetorically a few years ago during my days covering the NFL for the media. Given that I have never played in the Super Bowl or NFL, I had no idea.
“You’re terrified,” Colquitt answered his own question. “It gets in your mind that ‘if I screw this up, I could lose the Super Bowl.’” A surprising admission from an NFL veteran with extensive playoff experience and two Super Bowl appearances under his belt.
“Did that affect your performance?” I inquired.
“Not at all,“ Colquitt quickly responded. How did he do that?
“You’re almost frozen before that snap comes,” he began. “I would be telling myself, ‘Just catch the ball.’ The ball is snapped and then my body and the work I’ve done kicked in.”
It is a perfect example of noticing (awareness) the thoughts and emotions that our “mind factory” produces, without dwelling on them, and turning his attention to what matters. In Colquitt’s example, catching and punting the ball.
Yes, even professional athletes are challenged by unwanted thoughts and emotions. They’re human, too.
A Wrap
Take it from Haberl:
The athlete that can contact the present moment can be right here, right now—separate from thoughts and feelings—and step into awareness and then clearly act. What I’m trying to do is show athletes that the equation in their head that negative emotions will hurt performance does not match reality, and that we can work (perform) with these feelings present, without having them go away.
Your mind factory will be busily producing distracting thoughts and emotions while you are attempting to perform. Unfortunately, our head is not equipped with a delete button or on-and-off switch, but it won’t matter if you are aware of those mental experiences and can turn your attention back to what you’re doing. Staying focused on what you’re doing instead of dwelling on the thoughts and emotions that haunt all of us will go a long way to ensure optimal performance.
Get out of your head and get into the game.