The mental minute

If you’re a runner or cyclist, you have probably heard that the road ahead tests your heart long before it tests your legs. I might add it also tests your mindset, attitude, nerves and spirit.

With regard to mindset, one aspect is whether you view the field of play, and the game itself, as your friend or your foe. Either way can work but deciding which one it is might go a long way toward determining your game plan.

Friend
If the field of play is your friend, then you should cooperate with it, let it help you. For example, in golf each hole might be viewed as inviting and receptive. It is begging for a certain kind of shot based on the bend of the fairway, the tilt of the terrain and the framing provided by trees and water features. Go with it, don’t fight it.

In tennis, make the surface your friend, be it hard, clay, grass or synthetic. Don’t fight the shot the surface calls for. Go with that shot and make the surface your friend.

For years in golf, Phil Mickelson unsuccessfully fought the hard, undulating surfaces and blustery conditions at the British Open. Only when he gave into the fact that golf in the British Isles was a different game than in America, did he finally win The Open.

If you are a running back in football and rain is expected, view the rain as your friend that will help you juke defenders out of their socks.

The type of player who might gravitate toward this attitude is probably a calm, calculating, cognitive type, who stays emotionally even keel and plays the percentages.

Foe
In contrast, if the field of play is your foe, then you are likely going to want to go on the offensive and attack it. You’re thinking that the game, the stadium, the conditions and the opposing team believes you can’t handle this. The think they have you beat.

So, your response is, “Oh, yeah. I’ll show you! I’ll bring you to your knees! You’ll be crying uncle before I’m through with you.” And then you attack the enemy with all your tenacity. If you happen to not succeed on the first attempt, you can’t wait for your next chance to take another swat at your nemesis, your challenger, your foe.

This type of player is obviously more emotional than the cognitive competitor, who views the course as a friend. As Admiral Farragut said, “Damn the torpedoes — full speed ahead.”

Is there a compromise attitude?

If I were to describe a compromise candidate, it would be the mature competitor we all wish we could be — one who plays the friendly percentages but also recognizes the time to take the risk and attack the foe.

If you have played your sport long enough, you know the difference. The challenge is in getting yourself to be disciplined enough to act appropriately on the difference you know.

Dr. Tom Dorsel is Professor Emeritus of Psychology, a clinical/sport psychologist, and a resident of both Hilton Head and Pinehurst. His best selling book is “GOLF: The Mental Game,” and he can be reached on Facebook or through his website, Dorsel.com.