Improve your mental game

Contrary to popular belief, our mental state is highly variable. We are constantly seeking tasks and distractions that captivate our attention. On average, human focus lasts only about five seconds. Without clear goals or regular training, it is difficult to maintain concentration even for short periods. Evolutionarily, this makes sense as we usually notice unusual things only long enough to determine they are not a threat, then save energy by turning attention away from familiar and therefore safe things. In everyday life, however, this means we are rarely fully present. In competition situations, to take it even further, loss of attention leads to mistakes and costs crucial opportunities, especially when our working memory is overloaded with other tasks.

However, too much focus can also be detrimental. Under emotional stress, numerous worries compete for our attention, and strong emotions lead to excessive focusing. We overthink our actions, try to do everything particularly well, and thus disrupt automatic processes that work better without conscious interference at those moments.

Ultimately, a combination of high targeted and flexible attention and conscious awareness is the key to exceptional performance. This requires an awareness that goes beyond the ordinary. Sounds exciting? It definitely is, and it’s a good reason to delve deeply into it.

Our conscious experience consists of everything we perceive at any given moment, taking two distinct forms: attention and awareness. When we focus on something, it dominates our conscious experience, often excluding other information. Simultaneously, we can be generally aware of what is happening in the background. This awareness exists on a broader or less specific level than focused attention.

I prefer to describe awareness as a “field of awareness.” For an athlete, this encompasses everything relevant in space and time to accomplish the current task. This approach is holistic, open, and provides the overall context for conscious experience. Everything else should be filtered out as it is a source of distraction and splinters mental energy. Within this field of awareness, we can isolate parts of the content to analyze and interpret, i.e., focus them with a “spotlight of attention.”

Attention analyzes our experiences, while peripheral awareness provides context. New information first appears within consciousness, where the mind decides whether something is important enough to become the object of attention. If either function is not fulfilled or if there is insufficient interaction between them, we respond less effectively to situations. We might overreact, make poor decisions, or misunderstand what is happening.

In any competitive sports situation, we rely on stable motor sequences deeply rooted in our nervous system, known as procedural memory. These autopilot sequences run automatically on an unconscious level and should be left undisturbed. Additionally, competitive situations require continuous decisions made by our conscious mind.

The balance between these unconscious and conscious processes, and thus between attention and awareness, enables peak performance. The field of awareness creates that “bubble” that encompasses everything relevant to the task, whether in running, golfing, skiing, basketball, or any other sport. This field can be consciously defined and adjusted, forming the framework for a smooth flow of automatic sequences, including awareness that one is on autopilot. Within this field of awareness, we must constantly pay attention to factors that could become significant for the task, such as environmental changes, anticipating opponents’ movements, planning tactical moves, and increasing discomfort or pain. In short: reading the game attentively and adapting tactical steps.

Mindfulness is the optimal interaction between attention and awareness. It involves being aware and attentive to what is happening right now, both internally and externally. Paying attention is just one part of it – it also involves how we pay attention: non-judgmentally. Getting lost in reactions means losing focus on the current task. Being present in the moment means focusing on the factors one can and should control.

Outside of competition, attention and awareness are crucial for learning new things and changing behaviors, a process known as neuroplasticity. The more important something is to us, the higher the rate of plasticity. In the adult brain, mere exposure is not enough to trigger sufficient plasticity. Only the things we are aware of and pay attention to enable the brain to change quickly and significantly.

Attention can be viewed as a limited mental energy. A key characteristic of athletes who can control their conscious experience more precisely is the ability to direct their attention willfully, not get distracted, and stay focused until the task is completed. The necessary skills of athletes are multifaceted and include:

• Selective Attention: Focusing on task-relevant goals while ignoring distractions.
• Sustained Attention: Maintaining focus over extended periods.
• Situational Attention: Being alert to new potentially important goals.
• Attentional Flexibility: Switching or dividing focus between multiple goals.

The field of awareness and the focus of attention must not only be adapted to the specific demands of the sport but also change according to the individual requirements of the situation. There is a significant difference between relaxed running and the final kilometer of a 10-km “all-out” run. We will explore this important topic in more detail in a later episode.

These skills require advanced cognitive capacities both at the consciously controllable and the unconscious automatic level. Top athletes perceive the variability of attention and can monitor the quality of their own perception. They notice when the mind wanders. This ability to observe one’s own mental state and activities is called metacognitive awareness. This type of awareness allows us to monitor our mind without being overwhelmed by thoughts and feelings.

To direct our attention to a specific goal despite distractions, it is necessary to strengthen the working memory responsible for conscious thought processes such as attentional control. Interestingly, maintaining attention and awareness over long periods is largely unconscious. While we can use our will to concentrate in the short term, we have less control over how long we maintain this state. Therefore, it is crucial to train both conscious and unconscious processes. This is achieved by transforming working memory tasks into unconscious routines, which is more energy-efficient and faster for the brain.

Mental training based on meditation techniques is an effective tool to develop these abilities specifically. Experienced athletes who practice these techniques can control their attention more precisely and flexibly and maintain it longer while others are more easily distractible. Meditation essentially involves repeatedly bringing a wandering attention back, cultivating both attentional stability and mindfulness.

Studies have shown that meditation significantly improves working memory and, through the conscious observation of one’s mental processes, gradually changes the subconscious, reprogramming it, so to speak. It is comparable to strength training for attention and enhances the ability to concentrate directly during performance. Meditation strengthens the ability to simply observe and be present without being distracted by reactions and judgments that often impair experience and performance.

Consciously focusing on a meditation object, such as the breath, provides the unconscious processes with new information. By repeatedly performing basic tasks with clear intent, we reprogram the unconscious mental processes. The practice works because it repeatedly provides these invisible unconscious networks with new information.

You can start with a simple exercise today: Focus on your breathing and follow each breath. Scientific studies have shown that this is one of the most effective methods to maintain concentration. Initially, it is recommended to take a few minutes regularly in a quiet environment to focus on your breathing. However, after just a few days, you will notice that this technique easily integrates into everyday life and you find yourself unconsciously breathing more focused, even in increasingly stressful situations. This exercise can also be applied during sports activities, which not only provides a general assessment but also trains your mental attention and awareness under different conditions.