Find Calm in the Chaos
“The seeds of victory and defeat are sown well before the war is ever waged.” - Sahil Bloom, investor, inspirational writer and content creator
Finding calm in the chaos of competition is what many performers hope to do.
Only some performers are successful on account of their preparation (or lack thereof) before the battle.
The key to finding calm in the chaos is to train your mind to be ready for the mayhem before the chaos happens.
Lately I’ve been more intentional about using the term “resilient” versus “mentally tough”, however there may be an even better term to focus on - “antifragile.”
Mentally tough - ability to stay focused and determine even when facing adversity
Resilience - ability to adapt, change, and recover from adversity
Antifragile - the ability to thrive and grow stronger in the face of adversity
Each of these terms has value when developing and training for any endeavor, but one of these terms seems to be the most powerful and impactful:
Do you want to push through pain and show your mental toughness?
Do you want to adapt and recover quickly from adversity to be more resilient?
Do you want to become stronger in the face of adversity to be more antifragile?
The mentally tough and resilient are aware of chaos and trust their training to get through it.
But the antifragile build environments (physical and mental landscapes) to operate and thrive in chaos.
Is it valuable to have all three of these traits?
Of course!
Defining and being aware of these different approaches is critical when preparing yourself to find calm in the chaos.
Embracing antifragility means you seek discomfort, intentionally train in stressful situations, embrace uncertainty, and have a growth mindset when the adversity does surface.
As a big fan of the Kansas City Current professional soccer team (and being a former goalkeeper), I admire of one of our newest players, German goalkeeper Almuth Schult.
KC Current and their sponsor Blue KC have been sharing a video series “Mindful Moment” where players have an interview and share thoughts on different mental health topics.
In Almuth’s video, she shares how important it is to stay calm under pressure.
Especially as the last line of defense she shares how having a calm approach versus a frazzled one contributes to making better decisions in those moments of chaos.
Watching a player who is close to my age, the mother of 3 children (one set of twins) who trained to come back from each pregnancy, AND is a professional goalkeeper is inspiring as I am sure she has dealt with her fair share of chaos on and off the field.
Designing tasks that foster the opposite of chaos builds the durable traits of mental toughness, resilience, and antifragility by training your “calm” muscles.
“It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war.” - Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings
Here are some strategies to prepare and have the ability to find calm in the chaos:
Start a mindfulness practice - this can be as simple as becoming aware of your breath throughout the day. In order to become better at being in the present moment, practice is required. Set an alarm on your phone or watch as a reminder to pause, breath, and use your senses to be in the present moment.
Deep breaths - while practicing being mindful and being in the present moment, focus on taking DEEP belly breaths. Think about filling your belly first (by pushing down your diaphragm) to fill your lungs completely.
Take care of your body - this looks different for everyone. But could range from taking a walk in nature to having an intense workout. Putting your body through stress can help it become ready for battle. Being consistent and stretching your body past it’s comfort zone can help prepare for chaos.
Start a meditation practice - meditation is a focusing exercise to notice your thoughts and feelings without judgement. Meditation does not always require you to be sitting still and totally silent. Meditation can be done while walking, while repeating a mantra, while scanning your body, just to name a few modes of meditation. The simple way to practice meditation is to find a time (starting with as little as 1 minute) where you can be by yourself and work to notice your thoughts. Imagine your thoughts like clouds, floating by, trying not to get attached to your thoughts. This practice builds your focus muscle so you can be equipped to focus during times of chaos.
Cold Plunge / Sauna - the practice of getting in cold water and/or a steamy sauna is great for your body to reduce inflammation and release toxins, but can be a great practice to build mental fortitude. Your mind may think “I can’t handle this cold/heat” but if you can get through the discomfort you are building your mental strength and overall resilience.
Doing nothing - Yes, you read that right. Taking time to do absolutely nothing can be so challenging! In a world of go-go-go and need to do this, need to that it is a lost art to DO NOTHING and be bored. This doesn’t mean to sit on your phone or watch TV, but to literally do nothing. Allowing time for your mind wander and daydream can help foster your creativity and problem solving skills. It allows a space for rest (which IS work), planning, and revealing ideas or solutions.
Your ability and dedication to embrace adversity is what makes a strong performer.
The more practice and reps you put in to construct your “calm”, the more confident and capable you are to put yourself in a state of calm on command.
When chaos hits, you will be glad you put in the work to build focus skills so you can thrive and grow instead of crumble under the pressure.
