Dealing With Mistakes-Learning from Nathan Chen

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Many skaters feel they have to be perfect. They are afraid to make mistakes.

Common characteristics of perfectionists, particularly attention to details, and the need (drive) to get things right, make them excellent skaters. Skating is a sport of technique and precision where attention to details can be a benefit.

On the other hand, these same tendencies could stop skaters in their tracks. Paralyze them because they feel the need to be perfect, and from where they stand, perfection seems unattainable.

If you make a mistake or mess up, are you worried:

  • Your coach will withdraw their attention from you.
  • Your parents will be mad at you.
  • People will laugh at you.
  • You let everyone down because you are the highest level skater your coach has.
  • You are a poor role model for the skaters in your club.

Rev. Maurice Boyd, New York City Pastor once asked his audience to, “Notice how close perfection is to despair.”

The way we view our mistakes can mean the difference between consistently moving forward or freezing in place with your training. At the Pyeongchang Olympics, this athlete’s story struck me as a great example. Will you choose to manage your perfectionist thoughts or continue to let your thoughts manage you?

US National Champion, Nathan Chen, is one of the best male figure skaters in the world right now. His arsenal of quad jumps and known capacity for overcoming adversity (in 2016 he missed the World Championships after a season ending injury at the US Championship Gala) made him a favorite for the podium at the PyeongChang Olympics.

During the team event, Nathan ended up in 4th place, 20 points below his US Nationals score. In his Short Program, he stumbled or fell out of all of his jumping passes and ended up in 17th place going in to the long behind the other US men.

People started criticizing his training, his coach, his mother, his costume. This unpredicted outcome started worldwide speculation that burned up the news feeds.  What went wrong, why wasn’t he ready.

Did the pressure finally get to him?

Reflecting on the short program Nathan said, “As much as I tried to deny it, I think I did feel the pressure going into the (individual) short program, especially thinking about medals and placement, things that were out of my control. That just tightened me up, made me really cautious, and that’s not the way I skate.”

“In the short program, I changed the second (quad) flip into a toe, and that was a dumb mistake,” he said. “I was not going to play it safe today. If I made a couple of mistakes, so be it.”

“I knew at that point I literally had nothing to lose, so I decided to just try it (six quads).” (IceNetwork)

In other words, going into the short program, Nathan:

  • Was focused on the outcome rather than the process (skating each element).
  • Was distracted by things out of his control (medals and placement).
  • Not focused on what he needed to do (stick with his planned content).
  • Did not trust his plan and his skills.

This caused him to skate tentatively and make a costly mistake.

After the short program he:

  • Reflected on what he learned from the short program.
  • Regrouped and put the mistakes and worries behind him.
  • Chose to move forward, into a brand new day.
  • Recentered himself and made a plan for the Freeskate.
  • Recommitted to his mental skills training.

Focus on the process.
Trust your training.
Skate your program.

Nathan won the Freeskate and placed 5th at the Olympic games. He did this by reconnecting with his mental training, regrouping and refocusing to do his job the way he was trained to.

Nathan is one of the best skaters in the world, and he makes mistakes, just like you do. He gets in his own way sometimes, just like you do. He gets frustrated, just like you do.

You have the ability to train your mind to react like a champion, all you need is the desire to learn, the willingness to change and correct guidance. Much like the process of learning your skills on the ice.

Mistakes are an important part of the learning process. Watching our role models deal with mistakes helps us to remember that champions are not perfect, they are always learning and growing.

In fact, it is this ability to learn and grow, to accept that mistakes can help us improve exponentially that separate the true champion from the wanna-be champion.

So the next time you get frustrated or sad because you are not perfect, think of how Nathan Chen went from 17th in the short program to winning the freeskate the next day at the Olympics.

Lighten up, allow yourself to be human. To be who you are.
Dedicate time to learn and practice your mental skills.

If you have the desire to learn and the willingness to change in order to improve your skating, I can provide the correct guidance to improve your mental skills to the level of a true champion. Contact me to see if you are a good fit for ICE Mental Skills Training. Or start by downloadingConfidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook to start your training.