4 Ways to Be A Fearless Competitor, Part 2

In Part 1 of this article, we discussed the challenges of achieving peak performance under pressure and how certain athletes like Lance Armstrong seem to be able to transcend the nerves that beset most of us, best characterized by Bill Stapleton's comment that, "Lance hates losing, but is not afraid of it."

I believe that starting on the road to becoming a fearless competitor can happen with a snap of your fingers. Resolve to let go of your attachment to the results and focus on the process: the joy of being a player in the game, regardless of results. This sounds easier than it really is; the reality of re-programming the brain and enjoying a consequently favorable response from your nervous system (e.g., leveraging positive butterflies instead of being gripped by fearful ones) is a monumental challenge. Try these four specific suggestions to create a competitive disposition that is fearless and optimal for peak performance:

1. Release Your Attachment to the Outcome: This is the most powerful competitive stance you can adopt because it frees you from pressure, tension and anxiety and allows you to take the risks required to achieve peak performance. Focus on the enjoyment of the process of pursuing a competitive goal and the inner satisfaction of giving your absolute best competitive effort, for these are more long lasting and satisfying than the fleeting euphoria of victory.
2. Learn from Your Mistakes: Competitive failures can destroy the resolve of even the most skilled and experienced competitors. Instead, use failure to empower you to become better in the future. Failure is a gift that unlocks more doors leading to your ultimate potential. It's OK to feel anger, sadness and despair after defeat, but then you must let it go and choose a positive attitude for the next effort.
3. Forget Psyching Up: As Lance said when I asked him about his mental training techniques, "I don't have much use for that stuff. I prefer hands-on physical work, getting into a routine of hard work. For me, that is the best preparation." Get out of your head and adopt a free and relaxed attitude about peak performance. Sometimes an analytical approach is valuable, but generally it's best to show up ready to kick some butt instead of analyzing how, why, when and exactly how much butt you are going to kick.
4. Get Some Perspective: Implementing these suggestions is a challenge because they fly in the face of our winning-obsessed culture. The race results of my triathlon career--which I lived and died by for nine years--now reside in a single file folder in the rear of the cabinet. Today, the memories I have of the journey are everything, and the results are virtually meaningless (except for the big wins, ahem!). The same can be said for all of us; we will all one day get old and die, regardless of how many toys and accolades we accumulate along the way.

Adjusting your attitude is as difficult as you make it. Kids are excellent role models to use in developing the skill of getting over yourself and having fun. The faces on my son's indoor soccer team during a 15-2 wipeout last year were plenty long. Yet, five minutes after the game they were screaming with joy and pouring back onto the field for a pick-up game against the grown-ups. Adults, manipulated for years by the rat-race mentality, have a harder time loosening up and letting go. If Lance and Tiger Woods can do it in the face of unfathomable attention and incentives, you can certainly summon the courage to do it with your own competitive challenges.