Sports
Newsday Reporter
ONE of the many things that piqued my interest in the field of psychology is its deeply ingrained relationship with philosophy. Many of the psychological concepts we discuss today can find their genesis in that of philosophy and philosophical writings…and today’s article topic is no different.
I’m sure at one point or another we’ve all come across the saying, “the only constant in life is change,” well, we can thank ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus for this. Heraclitus premised much of his philosophical belief on the inevitability of change and I’m sure, glancing at the modern world around us, we can all agree he may have had a point. Change is a phenomenon that occurs every second of every day in great and little ways. From trying a new brand of oats for breakfast to finding a new job or moving to a new country. The global population has experienced more change throughout this pandemic than it has in almost a century.
No different to anyone, athletes and coaches exist in an environment that can change without notice, particularly during competitive performances. These changes can range from transitioning from attack to defence or moving from leading to losing, to experiencing injury and team substitutions or experiencing non-selection for the starting line-up. Similarly, coaches might experience changes such as losing funding for their club or losing an athlete for a season due to injury, gaining additional support staff or being promoted to a new league.
It should be noted, change is not always comfortable, in fact, it often forces us to be uncomfortable, uncertain, and can sometimes stir a bit of emotional upheaval. So how do we stop this from happening? The reality is that we can’t. The human condition is designed to stick to the status quo and stay with what is most comfortable and anything that alters that causes “discomfort” or “awkwardness.” We can, however, master certain skills that help us get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Some of these include:
i. Acknowledge that change is occurring – we can sometimes get so caught up in resisting change that we don’t face it. Acting out of a place of denial and focusing energies on trying to stop the change from happening rather than accepting that a change is taking place and finding ways to manage, cope and progress with it can oftentimes cause more stress.
ii. Recognising that even positive change can cause discomfort – Have you ever experienced a positive change or achieved something great such as graduating from school or getting a promotion at work but still felt a level of discomfort or uncertainty? This is entirely okay; stress is just the body’s way of coping with change. What we need to do is wade through the discomfort and be kind to ourselves while doing so before getting to greatness.
iii. Keep the rest of your life and routine consistent. When experiencing a change in one part of our lives we can often be guilty of letting all other healthy habits and routines fall to the wayside. It’s important to note that when experiencing change this is the critical time to maintain consistency where possible. If you’re finding it difficult to keep track of everything use reminders, visuals and cues to keep you consistent.
iv. Identify the controllable and stay solution-focused – when change arises we can get caught up in the “venting,” about it and sometimes spend too much time in that space; particularly if sharing with friends, colleagues, teammates etc. After all, venting is contagious. But we must remember that it’s important to let out our thoughts and emotions…to a point. We then shift and our energies towards controlling the controllable and finding positives.
Lastly, adaptability is key. The greatest inhibitor to change is one’s failure to adapt. We as human beings can get quite easily stuck in denial and fear of change or the unknown and as such get left behind, miss out on great opportunities or settle for something lesser than we deserve simply because it’s “what we know.” Shifting our physical, mental and emotional selves to accept and embrace change is the key to adaptation and ultimate success.
Feel free to submit any questions you might have to alexandriaolton@outlook.com
