Managing Pressure
Chapter Six: Optimal intensity
Performance psychology columns are sometimes tricky to write, and this is one of those. This month we will explore how tournament fishermen can create and maintain optimal emotional intensity during competition. However, in contrast to some areas of performance psychology, here we do not have a deep well of reliable research on which to base solid conclusions. Investigators of optimal intensity rely on anecdotal data, reporting the subjective experiences of individuals in different kinds of competition. There are recurring themes, however, that the tournament angler can use to his advantage.
In the zone
The colloquial expression for optimal intensity is being “in the zone.” Across many sports, competitors who have been in this “zone” report remarkably similar experiences. Almost without exception, people describe a feeling of time slowing down. Some say they feel as though they are moving in slow motion. Commonly there is a feeling of invincibility: the notion that no matter what happens, things will turn out for the best.
Athletes say this zone of optimal intensity includes an unusual or eerie combination of quiet concentration and electric intensity that is difficult to describe.
When competing in this state, individuals report being oblivious to distractions. Many say they feel as though they are in a world of their own. In this frame of mind, they become completely focused on the task at hand, essentially indifferent to the outcome of their performance.
Not surprisingly, competitors often exhibit their best performance while “in the zone.” However, it is both mysterious and frustrating that this optimal level of intensity seems to come out of nowhere, exist for an indefinite – though usually short – period of time, and then disappear as quickly and completely as it arrived.
A few individuals believe they can create this unique internal experience at will, though sports psychologists are skeptical of such claims. We do have some idea of what predisposes people to being “in flow” or “in the zone.” We are even clearer about what optimal emotional intensity is not. Let’s look at this latter domain first.
Extreme emotionality
It is popular in many sports these days for competitors to “pump up,” as it were. Turning on the television, one finds a good deal of whooping, hollering and carrying on, before and during contests, as well as afterward. While audiences may find this entertaining theater, performance psychology clearly tells us that such behavior interferes with performance rather than enhancing it.
Tournament fishing, in case you weren’t sure, is a technically complex, intellectually intricate and physically demanding sport. If you make a bad decision, lose your focus or execute carelessly, even for a moment, you may miss the fish that wins the tournament.
Unbridled expressions of raw passion diminish our capacity to concentrate, focus on, and precisely execute complex tasks. At a practical level, emotional outbursts during a tournament waste valuable fishing time. Of course, people who “let it all hang out” may still be successful. However they will do so in spite of, not because of, this facet of their temperament, regardless of what they may believe.
If you want to prove this to yourself, try an experiment: Get your pitchin’ stick and a tin pie plate, and head to the back yard. Put the plate at a distance where you can drop your jig on it five out of six times. Now spend the next two minutes (have someone who loves you time this!) screaming at the top of your lungs; throw yourself on the ground, pump your fists in the air, and wail uncontrollably, imitating your favorite hysterical Wild Man U. linebacker. Then quickly pick up your rod and see if even one of the next six pitches hits your plate.
Anger, worry and frustration
Being “in the zone” is incompatible with anger, worry and frustration. Most of us sail through a wide range of emotions every day. However, if you or one of your fishing colleagues experience frequent and/or intense episodes of irritation, anxiety or aggravation, you would do well to address this. There are many effective techniques available to help people become and remain calm, and a general sense of well-being seems to be a prerequisite for getting into “the zone.” Call around and find a good psychologist who can teach you how to dissipate destructive emotions.
Challenge yourself
In most instances, athletes experience being “in the zone” when they have pushed themselves harder or farther than they thought possible. This is not a recommendation to take reckless risks. However, business as usual rarely carries competitors into the flow of optimal intensity. Re-examine and raise your goals, and renew your commitment to being the best tournament fisherman you can be. You might even talk to a sports psychologist to learn how to focus intently on every single cast – wouldn’t that be wild?!
You will clearly be a pioneer as you seek ways to create and maintain your zone of optimal intensity as a competitive fisherman. Preliminary data suggest we may each need to follow a unique path to what appears a universal domain. Those who have been “in the zone,” however, say it is well worth the trip.
Jay T. McNamara, Ph.D., L.P., is a psychologist, who is also an avid bass and walleye angler. With more than 25 years of professional experience complemented by participation in competitive fishing at local and national levels, he is uniquely qualified to illustrate how performance psychology principles apply to tournament fishing.