Belief - Where does it come from
Dr Mark Bawden is out in Vancouver with the Short Track Speed Skating team. This is the fourth article he has produced whilst out at the Games. In this article, Mark reflects on where belief comes from and the end result from Sarah Lindsay's 500m quaterfinal.
Looking through the looking glass - where does belief come from?
At the Games ‘belief’ is often a hot topic of conversation. Some athletes just do not seem to have the belief that they can perform in this environment, whereas others seem to grow in confidence to make it happen.
Belief appears to come from one of two places. One group of athletes appear to get confidence from facts and evidence from the past, whereas another group appear to get their belief from future possibilities. Thus, the first belief source is based on hardcore facts and evidence. If in training an athlete knows that they are consistently capable of skating a 500m race in 42.0 seconds, then they can go into a race pretty confident that they can compete with any skaters who skate around this time.
The second source of belief is a great deal more mystical. This source is about future possibilities and what ‘could be’. This source does not need evidence from the past to fuel the belief system it needs the athlete to engage in the imagination of the future. People who are ‘future thinkers’ tend to be more emotionally based and are capable of performing at far higher levels then compared to training performance. These athletes do not need evidence that they can do something - they just need to engage in ‘what could be’.
For ‘evidence’ based athletes, training times and past performances are the critical cornerstones to success. When belief is high, these athletes tend to be able to repeat what they are capable of. In sports that require no interaction from other competitors this is a very powerful source of confidence e.g. if you are a 100m sprinter and you know you can run a world record time, all you need to do is have the belief that you can go out and deliver what your capable of. In some respects this performance could be seen as similar to delivering an acting performance. You are in control of your own destiny – nobody is going to change lanes and push you off the track.
For the belief from ‘future possibilities’ based athletes - what has happened in the past is not as relevant as to what could happen in the future. When belief is high this group, athletes tend to be capable of performances that reality and logic could not predict. These athletes can come into an Olympic environment and produce performance that far exceed the logical expectations of others. This group of athletes can respond well to sports where the environment is less predictable and requires the performer to respond to an ever-changing environment.
Interactive sports have far more uncontrollables. Thus, in sports like short track speed skating where an opponent can physically crash into you, the sense of unpredictability is much higher. These sports always have a sense of uncertainty about them and it is this uncertainty that can often bring questions to a persons belief. In this environment the athlete may not question belief in themselves and what they are capable of – it is the unpredictability of what is about to happen that can eat away at the confidence. Of course the cliché we use is ‘control the contriollables’ – focus on what you can control and take your focus away from the things you can’t. This is clearly the right focus, but there is always the risk that something outside your control can upset the game-plan. This was evident for Sarah Lindsay our 500m speed skater who we all believed had the potential to medal at these Games.
For Sarah going into the 500m quarter final she had a clear race plan – get to the first corner first and then hold off the chasing pack for 4.5 laps. This was a logical plan – Sarah is one of the fastest starters in the world and was capable of doing this. If she did could do this, she gave herself the best chance of making the semi-final and possibly going onto to win medals.
The challenge for Sarah was that she was drawn in lane 3 and she had the number 1 in the World in lane 1 (Chinese) and the number 2 in the world in lane 2 (Canadian). Just to add to the tension the silver medalist from the last Olympics was on her outside in lane 4 (Bulgarian). It was going to be a fight to the first block and whoever ended up in first or second would probably qualify for the next round. The tension was high as the starter gave his call ………‘go to the start’ , ‘ready’ and then the gun goes. All four athletes focused on the same goal……getting to that corner first. At the first block there is a huge collision resulting in Sarah and the Canadian on her inside ending up in the barrier. The race is stopped and the athletes get called back to the line. The stakes have now risen, the Canadian has staked her claim, this is going to be a scrap - but the goal is the same, fight your way to the first block. The starter calls them to the line, they prepare to start and then the Canadian jumps the gun. A fowl start. The tension rises again as the skaters are called back to the start line for a third time. Back in position, the gun goes. All four athletes explode off the start line, focused on one goal. Once again Sarah and the Canadian collide, both end up in the barrier. The referee slowly skates over to his assistant – there is a brief discussion and then Sarah is disqualified. Her Olympics are over. The race lasted less than 2 seconds.
Image from Reuters: Sarah Lindsay focused on one goal
No matter how much belief Sarah had in her ability, factors outside her control influenced her destiny. She committed to her goal 100% and executed it brilliantly twice, but her Olympic Games ended because another competitor had the same race plan and the same level of conviction. For athletes who have to contend with an uncertain environment - staying confident is much more than believing in your skill it is about being able to manage and deal with an uncertain world and not letting doubts in when things outside your control determine your fate.
This is Sarah’s last Olympics and not the way she would have liked to leave the sport – however, she can leave knowing that it wasn’t her belief that let her down it was a sport that has at its very heart an unpredictability that can test the nerves of even the most mentally tough of athletes.
