Delivering peak performance, in whatever area in life, asks for standardization of certain processes before the actual performance. The reason is simple: by knowing what you need before you enter the 'arena' you'll increase your chances of actually getting there in the right mindset. This article will provide a summary of the vision on rituals, as used by PEX.

What is a ritual? Rituals exist in many shapes and forms, they differ per person and often per sport. Next to this, people will often use them at different moments. But there is some common ground in this: two kinds of rituals can be divided: preperformance rituals (things you'll do before you start your performance) and refocus rituals (things you can do during the performance). A ritual consists of a standardized and trained (!) pattern of actions/thoughts that are known to improve performance.

How do 'good' rituals look like? The honest answer is: that depends. It depends on the personality type, preferred tension profile and on the specific situation that someone is in. I know a lot of athletes that work with visualization and breathing techniques, but have also seen athletes that don't like those practices and just prefer to listen some music. One important fact here is that mental rituals should not be viewed as something separate from physical warm-up routines - both are intrinsically connected, have the purpose of preparing the athlete for what is coming and often follow up in time. When it comes to rituals, be scientific and pragmatic. A good ritual is a thouroughly tested ritual, designed fully on the basis of the athlete's personal strengths and preferences.

How do I design my own rituals for sport/work? Think about this in two phases: first you need to know what's actually important for you before you enter the performance zone, than you can add/remove activities later. The first phase is often a phase where the unconscious needs to become conscious: what are you doing normally before a match? How would it feel like if you couldn't do that activity? Write those down in chronological order. The second phase - the 'tweaking' phase - is more difficult. What can be added/removed here to make it more powerful?

Below is a beautiful example of a ritual (and the explanation, after the initial movie!) in the movie 'Sense of Flying' from Espen Fadness:

More information can be obtained by contacting PEX through the contact form, or by e-mailing to info@pextraining.com.

Written by: Rens ter Weijde