Legacy

by James Kerr

An everyday example might be in preparation for a speech: first we read through the text, maybe practise in front of the mirror until we’ve got the words and the flow right; then we might invite a few people to watch us rehearse – upping the intensity – and then finally, we might introduce real, emotional pressure; a video camera perhaps, a hostile heckler in the room, a bet on the number of times we hesitate, an unrealistic time limit . . . In this way our brains acclimatize to the pressure. We develop clarity, more accurate, automatic execution and situational awareness. The idea, however, is not to do too much too soon. A surfeit of pressure applied prematurely will leave us floundering, disoriented and modelling the very emotions we’re training to avoid. Just as with cooking a live frog, slowly does it. Let the frog gradually get used to the steadily increasing temperature so that it doesn’t jump out. By the time it realizes ‘it’s hot in here’, it’s too late. So, we focus on the technique, increase the intensity, and then add pressure. Before we finish, we reduce the intensity and focus once again on the technique, as if we’re cooling down at the gym. Repeat. And keep repeating until it’s automatic. The technique becomes powerfully embedded and we leave the process with a feeling of control. The point is to give our mental performance what Neuro Linguistic Programming calls ‘unconscious competence’, and what the All Blacks call ‘clarity’.