I like to make smoothies.
Last night when I made myself a smoothie, I discovered this incredible trick for making them taste good.
Usually I put in strawberries, bananas, almonds, chia seeds, some leafy greens, and maybe something else random, like some sweet peas—after all, pea protein is the big thing these days.
Last night, I left most of that stuff out, just including strawberries, bananas, almond butter, and peanut butter, and a little water. The result was a lovely smoothie I was excited to drink.
So here’s the trick: if you want your smoothie to be delicious, only put delicious stuff in it.
You might not be as shocked as I was at this revelation. You might be saying “wait Corwin, hold up a sec—that’s super obvious” and if you are, you’re right.
But you see, I always wanted to get MORE out of my smoothies. More nutrition, more energy, more of stuff I thought was good in some way, and I ended up creating an experience that really wasn’t all that great for myself—despite fundamentally wanting smoothies that I was excited to drink.
So, how does this relate to mental training?
I think often as we’re preparing for competitions, we lose sight of what we really want, and add in a bunch of extraneous stuff that doesn’t help—I know I have many times in the past.
For example doing extra workouts the week before, staying up late packing every last possible thing we might need, or figuring out the perfect packing arrangement (a big one for me) — one way or another, trying so hard to prepare well that we stress ourselves out.
What I want when I go into a competition is to feel relaxed, happy, energetic, and confident. If I do, the rest of the stuff will usually work itself out. (Assuming I’ve trained, my equipment’s in order, etc.—you do gotta be prepared on a baseline level)
When I fixate on stuff I think I have to do before a tournament in order to feel ‘ready’ I often stress myself out, and miss the central thing I’m going for. (kind of like putting sweet peas in a smoothie for an extra 1g of protein)
So, if you’re doing something to prepare for competitions that’s making you more stressed—don’t do it. Do the things that help you feel good, relaxed, and supported, and leave it at that.
And enjoy a delicious smoothie.
P.S.
If you’re not sure what to focus on when you’re getting ready for a tournament, be sure to download the Perform PERFECT Checklist as a guide
If you’d still like some help, I have current openings for 1-on-1 coaching—click here to see more or schedule a consult and we can talk.