In reading about sports psychology, I came across a
great resource. In
one of the articles are outlined 7 elements of excellence, based on the study of elite performers. At the end are the following reflection questions. I find these quite helpful as they form a useful framework in guiding one's psychological orientation. (I copied them here as an excerpt below for the ease of reference. Credit: Terry Orlick.)
Commitment
Are your goals clear, challenging and targeted at being your best?
Do you work at improving something every day , in every practice, in every performance?
Is your commitment to training, practice or preparation strong enough to take you to your high level goals?
Is your commitment to respect your personal needs for rest, balance, recovery, and good nutrition, strong enough to take you to your goals?
Belief/Self-Confidence
Do you believe in your capacity to reach your goal(s)?
Are you putting yourself in situations that give you the greatest chance of believing in yourself and achieving your goals?
Do you think and act in ways that make you feel positive and confident?
Do you have a plan to get there – Do you trust your plan and your preparation?
Will you free yourself to let good things unfold?
Full Focus
Do you know what focus works best for you?
Do you have a plan to consistently get into your best focus?
Do you work at improving your focus? How?
Do you focus on doing the little things that work best for you every day, for the duration of your performance?
Positive Images
Do you imagine yourself performing (or interacting) the way you would ‘ideally’ like to be.
Do you imagine yourself achieving your goals?
Do you imagine yourself doing the little things that will allow you to achieve your goals?
Do you "wake up" your positive images by acting in ways that will take you a step closer to your goals each day?
Mental Readiness
Do you carry a perspective that centers on ongoing learning and growing?
Do you mentally prepare yourself to live and perform your best? Consistently?
Do you trust yourself to free your performance unfold?
Do you remain open to the creativity of the moment and the dynamics of the situation?
Distraction Control
Do you carry a perspective or focus that allows you to avoid, minimize, or take control of distractions?
Do you carry a performance focus that allows you to maintain your best focus even when faced with setbacks or distractions?
Do you prepare yourself to flow through distractions, and focus on quickly regaining control when faced with performance errors or setbacks?
Constructive Evaluation
Do you draw lessons out of every experience or every performance (i.e. what went well and what needs refinement)?
Do you act on those lessons every day or every opportunity
Do you re-run the things that you want to improve by correcting them in your mind?
Do you reflect upon the role that your mind-set and focus played in your performance?
Do you act on those reflections?
You can apply these questions and the seven elements of excellence to any area of your life. The Wheel of Excellence is relevant to anything that is important in life. I wish you the best in your quest to make it run wisely and smoothly.
