In the last few seconds leading up to the moment when you are about to execute a limiting attempt,
What. Do. You. See?
~~~
Before you start thinking about an answer,
Or try to remember what tips your coach gave you about this,
Or try to remember what exactly you were looking at during your last training session,
Or say anything with the word "focus",
Let me say that you should instead ready yourself to have a bunch of "right" and "wrong" notions dispelled from your head.
As I will start with the Truth ...
It does not really matter what you are seeing externally. (i.e. what you are looking at).
What really matters is ...
How are you seeing yourself? (Proprioception/ External Awareness)
(What) are you seeing inside? (Internal awareness)
Are you there to actually see? and
Are you seeing enough.? (Presence)
~~~
What do most athletes do normally? What do most people "see"? What are the alternatives?
Most usually leverage one of two ways.
Some try to "Focus" or "Clear the mind".
To which I will say, okay, let us first understand what "focusing" really is.
To focus during execution means to "try to" turn a blind eye to everything else (the crowd, noise (shhhhh) and the surroundings) and "try to" only execute.
Why do I say "try to"?
Because that is the essence of "focusing". If you are focusing, you will always "try to" Focus. You will never be fully focussed.
Why?
Because if we dig deeper, we see that focusing is taking the mind head-on.
And, in the end, what is the mind?
It is yourself!
When attempting to focus, you are essentially fighting yourself.
It is like using the tool to defeat the tool.
Why would one choose to enter a fruitless duel like that while also executing a limiting attempt?
Some try to channel emotion or anger
Which is like forging a weapon out of one's weaknesses.
Some swear by it and will argue saying that they are not weaknesses but are "human" aspects.
To which I will say, well, how has it been working for you?
Are you continuously able to execute and perform freely while in the grips of your emotions?
Is it not like keeping your bull caged permanently and letting it out either to get gored by it or experience the temporary euphoria only to cage it back inside?
~~~
focusing or channeling emotions are what I call "external" ways of getting things done
Because while doing them, one is seeing externally.
What is a far superior way?
Turning inwards!
Yes, it is all about seeing internally and becoming aware.
Because the moment you starting seeing inside, paying attention to all the intricate, built-in functionalities your body already has,
You realize that you have a lot more than you thought you did.
A lot more to understand and learn how to leverage.
Not only that, but the moment you start glancing inwards, you start to discover an entirely different universe.
A universe where your execution is untouched by stress, fear or doubt. And you can truly perform.
The worse part of failing to do this isn't that you do not get to use or leverage your inner strength.
It is that you have to constantly come up with an external way for everything.
It is is the constant maintenance of the external strength in order to execute whenever you need to.
The worse part of not seeing isn't that you do not get to experience your inner universe.
It is that you will always get caught up in the resultant stress and talent-killing emotions of excitement, anger, fear, doubt, and frustration.
Emotions which are too strong to be dealt with, by mere focusing or "clearing the mind".
~~~
One must realize that ...
It is not about remembering all the things you have to do (cues), it is about finding a way to have to remember nothing!
To experience and feel everything!
It is not about forcingly making things happen (whether it is maintaining a straight bar path or a flat back)
It is all about listening, slightly guiding and mostly letting things happen on their own.
However,
these magical things happen or are accessible only when one chooses to see inside and enter the universe of feeling, awareness, and perception.
The more one masters this, the more invincible they become and so does their performance.
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