BECOMING A PEAK PERFORMER
For more than 100 years, the field of sport psychology has existed to assist elite performers to handle the challenges that are inherent to their field. As the parallels between elite athletes and elite musicians are vast, performing artists may find increased potential by following the athletes’ lead. In fact, a closer look reveals that nearly everyone in every field has to ‘perform.’ Come along as we work to develop the mental game related to performing to realize more successes in whatever you do!
Sports psychologist, Kate Hays, notes in a 2010 article in Psychology Today that “performers function in domains that expect extremely high standards,” and adds that they must possess the skills “to
Excel in high-pressure contexts
Perform in front of an (actual or implied) audience Bring their talents and skills into proficient action at a specific moment - that is, there is a temporal dimension
Present a public “face” that may be different from their ordinary self
Meet performance standards
Respond to high external demands
Demonstrate appropriate coping skills under pressure
Handle judgements regarding their proficiency or excellence
Face performance consequences.”1
Does this sound familiar to you?
Athletes and the Arts is an organization that was designed to integrate the science of sport and the performing arts. They posit that “both athletes and artists:
Practice or play every day
Play through pain
Perform at all times of day or night
Compete in challenging environments
Enjoy little “off-season”
Feel strong pressure to succeed
Risk career-threatening injury”2
As such, performers must endeavor to engage practices that will assist them in gaining the mental acuity to succeed at the highest levels of the arts.
If these pressures resonate with you, join us for a new series, “Performance Edge” - designed to offer strategies that will improve resiliency and increase your ability to handle the challenges faced within the professional world.
This is going to be fun!
1. Hays, Kate. The Performance Edge: It’s not Just a Sport. Psychology Today. January 12, 2010
2. Athletes and the Arts. Athletes and the Arts: Integrating the Science of Sport and the Performing Arts. http://athletesandthearts.com/dev/wp-content/uploads/AthArts-General-handout1.pdf