Skaters often find themselves heading into a big competition at the end of the season, frustrated and bewildered at their lack of progress toward their pre-season goals.
Panic sets in as they try to cram positive thoughts and build up their confidence in the weeks before competition. Score another loss for you and a victory for procrastination.
Last night I was talking with a mother of one of my students who was frustrated with her daughter for leaving her homework until the last minute after missing a week of school.
She said, “I don’t understand,” so her daughter showed her a humorous video about what goes on in the mind of a procrastinator by Tim Urban.
It is a clever way to explain what so many skaters do every year, and an challenge for you to find a better way.
Here’s the condensed version:
We have a deadline.
The “Rational Decision Maker” in our brain makes a plan that will systematically takes us to task completion before the deadline. Yes!
Urban says that in the brain of a procrastinator there also lives the “Instant Gratification Monkey,” who loves to have fun.
Every time the Rational Decision Maker says, “It’s time to work,” the Instant Gratification Monkey finds something fun to do instead.
This happens until the deadline looms and the “Panic Monster” appears to save the day.
It turns out that Panic Monster is the only one Instant Gratification Monkey listens to. Once Panic Monster appears, Rational Decision Maker celebrates and you can get your work done.
Usually, the work is not the best quality, and you probably went through a lot of mental pain, stayed up all night, and caught a cold, but it’s done.
So this system works. For the short term.
Urban goes on to say that there are two types of procrastination. Short term and long term.
Procrastination starts to take its toll in unhappiness and dissatisfaction in situations where there is no deadline.
For example: You want to be the best skater at your rink, or you want go to Nationals.
There are no deadlines for this unless you are in the right position this season. Until you have reached a certain level and have momentum, nothing is happening to make the Panic Monster appear.
The system is stalled in procrastination. “I’ll do it later.”
In skating, getting to the right position to go to Nationals can mean 5-10 years of daily practice.
If you only get things done when the Panic Monster appears, you need to figure out another way to follow your plan and keep momentum going.
Here are a few things you can do to tame your monkey:
1) Change your mindset with new habits:
- When you train your mental skills, you will know what is important.
- You will improve your concentration and be able to re-focus yourself when you drift.
- First you learn how to do this in skating, and then you can transfer those same skills to life.
2) Be accountable:
- Check in weekly with someone who knows your goals and is not afraid to point out when you are “slacking off.” Make sure you find someone you will listen to, someone not easy to disregard.
3) Work with an expert:
- This is the easiest, most effective way to guarantee you are on track to your goals. The added benefit is that you build momentum because you handle problems immediately, and learn how to handle future challenges.
- You spend less time searching for where to start, and you know that what you do will result in improvement.
4) Start now.
Your “Instant Gratification Monkey,” will tell you not to rush, there is time to start later. “Let’s go check out the newest videos on YouTube.
But remember, there is no “hard” deadline to being a National skater unless you are in the right position for it this year.
The “Panic Monster” will not arrive to make you start on your mental skills until the biggest competition of the season. By then it will be too late to make the transformational changes you want.
Changes that allow you to skate your best under pressure, or that allow you to make the most improvement you can in practice take time.
Building your champion mindset needs practice, it need feedback, adjustment and repetition. Just like your technical skills.
This is your wake up call. The best time to start is now.
Mental skills training can make a difference because it can help you access what is already there during competition and practice.
Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.
You can find Tim Urban’s TED talk, Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator.