I just want to put something out there, and this is free advertisement for Dr. Joseph Parent here. Two words:
ZEN GOLF
I remember when i was looking around at pole vault psychology on the web, and there was something about good books to read. Zen Golf was one of them. I bought the book used off of Amazon.com, $15 about. Cheaper than buying it off the shelf, $25. Anyway, i've been out of commission for the last 6 weeks now and for some fun reading i bought it about 5 weeks ago. It came in eventually and its been my best friend since then.
If anything, THIS BOOK IS SO TRUE. I know it is about golf, but if you read it in the mind set of a vaulter, it makes sense. Hell, any athlete could pick this book up and you can apply it to pretty much any individualistic sport. Its changed my mind set about the vault and its for the better.
Covers points about:
- maintaining calm and staying in the zone during competition and how to do it
- Being brave and accepting whatever happens
- Being opened minded to improvement and critizism
- Meditation of thought
- Ego, complaining, false confidence vs unconditional confidence
- Your competitors
You don't even have to be an athlete to like this book, some parts are such a quick read, but there are parts about golfing too, which i dont' know too much about.
Ok that's my shpeel I'll end it from one of my favorite excerts from the book:
"Unconditional confidence takes a big perspective, independent of moment-to-moment results. The bigger the perspective we have, the better we can ride the inevitable ups and downs within a round, over several rounds or even longer. We can handle difficulties with a sense of humor, knowing that these things come and go. We can regard experiences of success with a sense of humility; these also come and go. Whatever we encounter, we can be fearless in the moment. That's the expression of true confidence!" (Joseph Parent, Zen Golf p. 26)