B01. Changing the way you perceive it

TOC

It is said that optimal stress levels allow athletes to perform at their best. Incidentally, a state of stress is a reaction to a stressor , and a state of readiness to fight or flee . Therefore , when the strength of a stressor changes, the stress level also changes, and so does the feeling of whether to fight or flee . For example, in a sport where weight difference has a big impact, if a 60kg person competes against a 100kg person, they will be facing an extremely strong stressor, which will put them in a state of extremely strong stress and make them want to flee mentally. Categorization by weight, age, first team, second team, etc. can be thought of as keeping the strength of stressors within a certain range , bringing them closer to a moderate level of stress, allowing them to perform well.

However, if you want to compete beyond the category, or if you want to beat someone ranked higher than you in the same category, how can you optimize your stress level and perform at your best? You can't change the strength of the stressor by "weakening your opponent with magic." What you can do is build up your physical strength and hone your skills. And what about the "heart" of the mind, technique, and body?

The answer is to " change the way you perceive things ." You can't change the other person, but you can change the way you perceive things. By changing the way you perceive things, you can change your stress response from "flight" to "fight."

For example, you've practiced a lot, but your opponent in the first round is a favorite to win. At first, you might think, "I'm going to lose," "All my practice was wasted," or "I'm done," but you can change your attitude to, "It's hard to play against a favorite. I'll think about how far I can go, and I'll do my best to the end." A giant-killing may happen.

Jose Mourinho, a famous soccer coach, said about playing against lower-ranked teams that can pull off giant-killings , "Lower-ranked teams are not under pressure (to win), so playing against teams with quality and motivation is difficult" (Soccer King, 15 November 2012). When playing against a higher-ranked team, which is a strong stressor, the lower-ranked team changes their approach from "running away" to "playing a high-quality game." This means that giant-killings can happen.