Self Improvement Digest

A growing need for psychologists and coaches who specialize in performance has been experienced over the last several years. Performance Psychologists emerged first among elite athletes to seek the assistance of sports psychologists, now many seek the same sort of training for their own activities and their careers. Professionals assist clients in realizing their peak performance by helping them control the variables involved. These variables are wide reaching but generally the following issues are addressed:

Mental Health: Before any effective therapy can begin performance issues must be identified. Mental Health is evaluated as are current life stressors, history and personality, and mental health history. It is important to identify any mental health variables that are causing problems in performance.

Physiological Health: Like mental health, all good professionals should evaluate the overall physical health of their client and identify any medications, supplements, etc...that could be a factor in performance. It is also a good idea to include lifestyle information to fully understand your client.

Diet: Numerous studies have shown that diet plays an important role in performance. Athletes have long utilized carbohydrates before big matches for energy. Diet is also very important in maintain energy and our needs change throughout our lives.

Exercise: Endorphins make you happy and happy people perform better. Simple, but still most of us have a problem maintaining a good program. The most important thing when planning an exercise program is to be realistic. Most of us make change slowly over time. We do not go from eating and sitting on the couch every night to the gym 5 times a week. Consistency is more important than the energy input to single sessions.

Support Systems: What do support systems have to do with performance? Support systems are those people, organizations, and institutions that provide comfort and support to us such as the church, our family, our friends, etc...The quality of our support groups can make a big difference in our ability to manage stress, maintain mental strength, and perseverance.

Practice: Yes, you must practice anything you want to be good at including communication skills, networking, and job performance. In your practice also think about growth. Though repetition is important, so is new experience. For athletes it is called cross training but the same is true in your career and personal success.

Routine: When you are training in sports you work on muscle memory and trying to do things the same way every time whether it's swinging a golf club or throwing the ball on the pitch. It also helps to reduce the stress of a large event if you have an automatic process that you go through. In your career and personal life this comes in the form of setting boundaries and rules that you consistently follow.

Relaxation: As mentioned above, routine is very helpful. Routines relax us and comfort us. Other forms of relaxation include breathing techniques, guided imagery, meditation, and other personal methods developed by you and your professional coach or therapist.

There is not a one size fits all therapy to improve performance. Everyone needs something different and do not go to a professional who uses the exact same plan for everyone. There may be main methods but each client needs an individual plan.