Self-improvement
Chapter Seven: Creating a positive mental framework
Previous columns in this series have discussed specific performance psychology topics competitive fishermen can use to become more effective. This month we will step back and consider tournament fishing from a broader perspective.
In order to be more than episodically successful in this or any sport, you need an adaptive mental framework within which to operate. You might be successful in a particular tournament by using a narrowly focused strategy. However, consistency is a primary objective for all of us who fish competitively, and you won’t be consistent unless you “get your mind right,” as it were. One key facet of a positive mental framework involves understanding how to handle the controllable as well as the uncontrollable variables of tournament fishing.
Controllable vs. uncontrollable variables
If you read fishing magazines or watch television coverage of tournaments, you hear commentators as well as top competitors talk about the importance of controlling the controllable variables. But what exactly does that mean to you? Let’s try an exercise to help you find out.
Pull out your Performance Psychology and Tournament Fishing notebook, and label one page Controllable Variables. At the top of the next page, write Uncontrollable Variables.
Now, write down the components of tournament fishing using this differential frame.
To get started with this exercise, jot down obvious dimensions such as rods, reels and tackle assortment on the Controllable Variables page. List things like weather, lake level and water temperature in the Uncontrollable Variables section. However, to get the most out of this exercise you have to go beyond these obvious variables.
Controllable variables
On the Controllable Variables page, for example, you need a comprehensive list of all the physical equipment and physical-preparation dimensions you deal with on a regular basis. Be as detailed and specific as possible here.
Also include a section on tournament knowledge. If you have been on a competitive circuit for a while, you should have your own catalog of tournament results to consult. You should also investigate and keep track of other sources of tournament information on the bodies of water you regularly visit. Understanding fish patterns in various water systems during different seasons is clearly a Controllable Variable.
You also need to list psychological dimensions on the Controllable Variables page. Your attitude, your capacity to pay attention and your ability to deal with stress are among the many mental variables over which you have at least some control.
Once this list is relatively complete, look to see which of these Controllable Variables cause you trouble. Consider what you might do differently with each of these dimensions. You might also consider swallowing your pride and asking fellow competitors who are more efficient with these variables how they handle them.
One touring pro I know, for example, waits and waits and waits to make lodging preparations prior to a tournament. He often spends an inordinate amount of time scrambling at the last minute to find a place to stay when he should be focusing on actual fishing variables. For him, lodging is a controllable variable that he does not have under very good control!
Uncontrollable variables
The next part of this exercise might be especially fun. Make your list of Uncontrollable Variables equally comprehensive. Unexpected equipment failures, disruptive spectator boats, aggravating negotiations with sponsors and lousy food at Frank’s Bar and Grill in Frostbite Falls, Minn., could be included here. Run this list down the left-hand column of your page.
Then in the right-hand column, write down your typical response to each uncontrollable variable. You may need to rewrite this page and give yourself more room to describe your usual reaction to each of the uncontrollable variables listed. Let me tell you here and now that on several occasions I have seen this turn into an eye-opening experience, even for seasoned competitive fishermen.
The most common response I hear to this segment of the exercise is, “Gee, I’ve never thought of what I usually do in that situation.” Well, OK Charlie, think about it now! Don’t wait until you run into an uncontrollable variable on the road or on the water. And don’t expect yourself to think efficiently and effectively on the fly when you could spend time considering your options in advance. With some thought, you will likely come up with two or three choices for the next time you encounter these uncontrollable variables.
By way of illustration, a young pro I worked with identified “Someone beats me to my first spot” as a key uncontrollable variable. We talked through how he usually dealt with this, and he was surprised to discover (with input from his team tournament partner) that he typically became very angry, sometimes to the point of confrontation with the spot jumper. It regularly took him 30 to 60 minutes of fuming and sputtering before he was able to calm down, refocus and concentrate on fishing.
Needless to say, this was a remarkable discovery for Mr. Up-and-Coming Tournament Pro. He quickly saw that he was wasting a key segment of his fishing day by being angry and distraught about a situation over which he had very little control. We practiced refocusing exercises, I gave him some strategies for how to calm himself when he did become upset, and we talked through ways he could use his good planning skills to shift from Option A to Option B quickly and unemotionally. And while he has not yet won the FLW Championship, he is pleased that he no longer throws away fishing time on temper tantrums.
So, as part of creating a positive mental framework, play with this controllable-vs.-uncontrollable variables exercise and see what you find. What you will likely discover is that you have more control than you imagined.
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.