Wick Temple and Dick Button. Memorable names from years gone by. I was 16 and immediately got a Dorothy Hamill haircut!
In today’s world, she would be seen as having anxiety and would be offered medication or meditation. Back then you gutted it out and accepted that it was a symptom of wanting perfection. I’m not quite sure which is the better response. Nerves are ok, but anxiety can be debilitating. She was my hero even though I preferred my hockey skates.
Thanks for your insightful comment. As someone who competed in various individual sports for 40 years, I always felt that there was an optimal level of nervousness. When I was too nonchalant, and not at all nervous, I never performed well. And when I was so nervous that it became debilitating, I performed even worse. There was an optimal level. It was a level at which I was not comfortable but it was manageable. Then of course there were those rare times that I was in the zone. And in those times I actually did not feel nervous at all. And that's when I performed the very best I ever have in my life. But that non-nervousness was not the same as the nonchalant non-nervousness. It was a state of mind that you just fall into and you can't make it happen. I've heard world class athletes from different sports describe it the same way.
Wick Temple and Dick Button. Memorable names from years gone by. I was 16 and immediately got a Dorothy Hamill haircut!
In today’s world, she would be seen as having anxiety and would be offered medication or meditation. Back then you gutted it out and accepted that it was a symptom of wanting perfection. I’m not quite sure which is the better response. Nerves are ok, but anxiety can be debilitating. She was my hero even though I preferred my hockey skates.
Jeanne,
Thanks for your insightful comment. As someone who competed in various individual sports for 40 years, I always felt that there was an optimal level of nervousness. When I was too nonchalant, and not at all nervous, I never performed well. And when I was so nervous that it became debilitating, I performed even worse. There was an optimal level. It was a level at which I was not comfortable but it was manageable. Then of course there were those rare times that I was in the zone. And in those times I actually did not feel nervous at all. And that's when I performed the very best I ever have in my life. But that non-nervousness was not the same as the nonchalant non-nervousness. It was a state of mind that you just fall into and you can't make it happen. I've heard world class athletes from different sports describe it the same way.