How is Laurence Halsted passing on lessons of self-compassion to young athletes?
In my work with young athletes, one of the most consistent themes is perfectionism. Perfectionism is a spectrum and each individual moves along that continuum. I find that young athletes have very low tolerance for mistakes. The word “should” is very common in a young athlete’s vocabulary.
My guest in this episode, Laurence Halsted, is a two-time Olympian in fencing. Like my clients, Laurence struggled to cope with poor athletic performance. He harped on the results rather than experiencing joy in competing. It wasn’t until Laurence suffered a major injury just months prior to the 2012 Olympics that his perspective changed.
In Episode 37, Laurence discusses how his work with a sport psychologist helped him focus on a values-based approach to competing. Through this work, he learned self-compassion for himself, which elevated his performance to levels that he never experienced before. Now, through his work with the True Athlete Project, Laurence is using his experiences to help develop young athletes in a more adaptive manner.
So, what was your biggest takeaway from my conversation with Laurence Halsted?
For me, it’s that young athletes are likely to experience their best performance when they are enjoying their sport. In sport psychology, we often talk about how our thoughts affect our feelings and our feelings impact our performance. Having high expectations and being self-critical serve a purpose, but in order to truly thrive, athletes must learn self-compassion in order to maximize their potential.
My suggestion to young athletes is to practice focusing on your strengths rather than harping on your weaknesses. One way to do this might be to keep a daily journal in which you celebrate small wins and keep a gratitude list. Our brains are wired to focus on negativity and identify potential threats. You can proactively combat this by reminding yourself that the good you’ve produced far outweighs the bad.
I want to thank Laurence for his kind generosity and the wisdom he shared with The Freshman Foundation Community.
You can follow Laurence on Twitter @laurencehalsted. You can learn more about Laurence and his work by visiting the following websites:
https://www.sequoia-books.com/catalog/halsted/
To learn more about how mental performance coaching can help your mind work FOR you rather than AGAINST you, visit https://michaelvhuber.com.
Thank you for listening. We’ll see you back in two weeks ready to get better!