Charlie Unwin talk 18th February

Last Wednesday I attended a talk by sports psychologist Charlie Unwin. I have been to another talk and a workshop of his in the past but this most recent one was definitely the best so far. I am not going to spout word for word everything Charlie said, it would have little meaning in this blog and I would probably be breaching copyright! However, I did make lots of notes and I will try to share some of them and their relevance.

 

I have spent a lot of time this winter doing what I call, non riding training, attending talks, reading books, watching videos. I was not sure how beneficial this would be as people always talk about time in the saddle but Charlie emphasised the importance of thinking about what you are doing and reflecting upon it and I now feel almost justified to have spent so long thinking about my riding and how I will improve. I loved his saying "know your own approach, know your own mind".

 

Charlie also talked about changing your vague ideas into clear plans and I realised I was very vague in one of my previous blogs....

 

"Secretly in my heart of hearts I think if we can achieve the top 10 placing's at BE90 and BE100 then we have a chance of qualifying for a Badminton Grassroots Regional final but that depends on how we go and how we fair against the competition!"

 

What I should have said is that we will achieve top 3 placing's at BE100 and we will qualify and compete at a regional final. Being clearer about my goal and taking charge of my season means I have a better chance of succeeding.

 

Charlie split the talk into sections, focusing on the before, during and after phase of a competition. How you reflect on the event, what went well and what went badly was really interesting and I actually think I have spent the winter in quite an enviable position. I ended the 2014 season with my best placing yet and have (unconsciously, until now!) used this as a bench mark for the coming year, aiming to replicate that amazing feeling and that achievement again.

 

Charlie also talked about writing things down in a notebook after each training session or competition. I realised that by writing this blog I am giving myself time to reflect and time to think back and benefit again from all of the things I am learning. It is sad to think that we will not be able compete this year whilst wearing the GoPro as watching the videos of my X-Country rounds has enabled me to re-live the moment and go back over the positive emotions and store them in my memory.

 

There was an exercise that I have heard Charlie talk about before, about your bubble, keeping the things you want to achieve in the middle with all the things that you can control. Then around the edge are all the things that are out of your control and the emotions or thoughts that you might have because of them. Since the first talk I attended a year ago I have tried to think about my bubble and I am now more aware of certain people or situations that provoke negative emotions, which allows me to block them out as I know they are out of my control.

I will end this blog with, I think, one of the most thought provoking quotes of the night....