If you have ever played sports you’ve experienced a slump. In baseball, you can’t buy a hit. In basketball, you are not shooting the ball with the same confidence. When you find yourself in a slump you wonder if you will ever get another hit or make another shot. The experience is agonizing: you feel like you are letting everyone down. When mired in a slump, most people start doing more; more shots, more swings, more adjustments, more practice, more, more, more. Most people focus almost exclusively on the physical skills and not dealing with their emotional state. Today, let’s take a different approach to dealing with a slump. Here are three areas to examine when you find yourself or someone you coach in a slump.
1. Change in Physiology
When a player finds him or herself struggling the first thing to do is to examine how they are using their physical body. A good place to start is by checking one’s posture. People in slumps tend to have poor spine positioning, their heads hang low; they actually appear physically smaller. Next, analyze their movements. People struggling are tighter, there are less free- flowing movements. Lastly, examine your breathing patterns. When struggling, people tend to take short, rapid breaths depriving themselves of the necessary oxygen for high level functioning.
The Solution: If you know someone in a slump challenge them to change their physiology. Some very basic things to do: sit up straight, walk with your shoulders back and head held high. Address their movements; instead of small, rigid movements discuss breaking their comfort level and use big, aggressive movements. Think about how a rock-star struts on stage or a CEO walks into a board meeting. Visual cues are often helpful. Finally, discuss taking long, deep, slow breaths. Have them think about lifting their diaphragm with good air and slowly releasing the bad air. Radically changing physiology can oftentimes radically change the results.
2. Change in Focus
While in the midst of a slump the “poor, pitiful me” syndrome frequently is present. The athlete is consumed with their individual results. Sometimes they will begin to fret over whether or not they will stay in the line-up. Even things that outwardly appear positive; practicing more, discussing their struggles, watching more videos, for example, can actually be harmful.
The Solution- Pour yourself into your team or others. Instead of focusing on you, become incredibly selfless. Look for something, anything that you can do for your teammates. When we focus exclusively on ourselves our reality becomes distorted. Our “slump” becomes the most critical, devastating thing in the universe. When we make the decision to change our focus our situation oftentimes improves dramatically.
3. Change in Language
“I stink.” “I will never get a hit again.” “I don’t know why this is happening to me. I don’t deserve this.” These types of self-defeating phrases are commonly used by individuals in a slump. As soon as we use language like this, either outwardly or through self-talk, a different meaning is attached to the situation.
The Solution– The charge is to be incredibly disciplined in the words and phrases we use to describe our slump. “Man, things aren’t going great right now but lookout, it’s coming!” Or, “I trust the training; success is right around the corner.” The words we choose completely alter the experience. Instead of seeing yourself as a victim you become an adventurer. We possess the power and ability to choose how we view a situation.
Conclusion
When an athlete is in a slump the typical response is to focus on the skill deficiency. “What is wrong with my swing” is a phrase that coaches hear most often. Most coaches focus on the physical skills without considering the mental component when addressing these issues. My suggestion is to first analyze their physiology, focus, and language. Addressing the physical problem usually amounts to treating the symptom; however, the cure is discovered by adjusting the mental approach. Of course, sports issues, like slumps, manifest themselves in the real world. The same three step approach can be applied in times when you find yourself in a personal rut. If you are down, start by getting up and moving. Follow that by changing your focus; simply put, begin serving others. Finally, develop discipline in the way you speak to others and, equally as important, how you speak to yourself. Everyone experiences times when we feel less than our best. These three skills can you back on the right track.