The Best Cheerleaders are Focused Athletes
Focusing is the most important skill associated with learning and high level athletic performance (any kind of performance, actually). If a cheerleader is fully focused, he or she will be able to channeling everything into the performance. A fully focused mind is one that is completely engaged with what is happening in the moment.
Here is a way to understand how focus works (from the research of Robert Nideffer). We can think of attention as occurring on various dimensions.
It can be directed internally or externally. It can also be directed narrowly or broadly. And finally, it can be directed on a time dimension – past, present, or future.
Different situations require different kinds of focus; if you should be focused externally but instead you are preoccupied with what happened yesterday, your performance will suffer. If you are anxious, your focus will likely be on yourself and your feelings and negative thoughts. This, too leads to poor performance.
What to do? First step, like always, is awareness. Simply pay attention to where and how you are paying attention! Periodically ask yourself, what am I focusing on? Is this helping me learn better? Is this helping me perform better? This can be a good start.
More to come…
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Tags: cheerleader, cheerleaders, Cheerleading, focus