Thoughts of a Mad Man

Yin and Yang: Which one do you need?

Fear and relief. Arousal and calm. There is an optimum level of arousal that works for everything. The amount of stress hormones that are needed to be in an optimum running state are different from the ones needed when you are playing golf or doing surgery. A great many problems have been caused for me, a lot of lost performance, happened when I adopted the idea that I simply wasn't electrified enough.


Kelly McGonigal stated that stressful events aren't dangerous unless you believe they are (McGonigal, 2013). The emotion itself, isn't the enemy: it is the body rushing to supply you with ample energy to respond vigorously and decisively. If you believe that stress isn't the enemy, it's the cavalry, then you get the same effect as if you took medicine you believe in. Instead of clamping down on itself, it will also give you a smattering of helpful antidote hormones that will open the blood vessels and generally protect you from the dangers of overexertion. She has a handful of other advice that potentially reduce or reverse the dangers of stressful lifestyle on the heart.*


I have spent an inordinate amount of time learning how to increase my stimulation, then wondering why I couldn't get any results. According to my psychology textbook, it turns out that increased stimulation only helps on skills which are well trained or easy. For example, a pool shark plays better when being watched, but a newbie like me will play better when he's all alone and relaxed. All of the tricks that I tried to learn, extrapolated from self help books and NLP ideas, were delicate and awkward behaviors, the very kind of thing that needs calm focus rather than gushing hype.


That's the theory. In practice, I've only tried it a few times. I tried counting by visualization rather than auditory thinking - by seeing the numbers on the things I am counting, rather than by hearing. I've been trying that for some time. When I do it, when I actually visualize the numbers like I intended and keep the audio down, I do fantastically. Normally, I got too excited and slipped back into the old habits. Sure enough, when I calm myself down, the magic begins to happen.


So this is the idea: if a skill needs to happen when you're hyped, drill and drill. When you're drilling, be as serene as possible so that you can get it burned in your brain right. The good news: all that boredom might actually help your performance until you get good. Then, once you've developed unconscious competence, that point where you can do something without thought, then you're ready for the 'big game.'

















McGonigal, Kelly. (2013) How to make stress your friend www.ted.com Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend?languag...





* As always, consult your doctor and pharmacist before relying on anything you read on the internet. This is for informational purposes. Surely, however, you medical professionals will agree that hope and humanitarian activities are at worst, fully compatible with their prescription.