Sport Psychology Tactics - NASCAR Drivers, Motorsport Athletes & Peak Performance Mental Flow States
About the Author
Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!
Introduction: Sport Psychologists, Motorsport Athletes & Flow States
In the world of professional race car drivers there are specific psychological features one must have in order to achieve both high levels of success, and to sustain that success over long periods of time. A professional race car driver’s career rarely comes down to one race but rather whether they have cultivated a process that can withstand the pressures of this sport. Interestingly I have found that many of these race care driver features have universal application to all other sport performance domains. If properly harnessed these features can allow individuals to achieve what we call flow states (peak performance experiences that feel psychologically & physically effortless).
Because I have worked extensively with many professional race car drivers such as NASCAR drivers, I wanted to take some time to share three key mental strategies that athletes in all sport domains should use to achieve flow states. In part I. I want to review what it means to ‘seek comfort in discomfort’ and the neuroscience that supports this intervention. In part II. I want to discuss how taking a process goal focus primes athletes for mental flow states. Finally in part III. I want to explore an advanced Brainspotting technique called Expansion which can be used to create flow states. Let’s first begin by understanding how to seek comfort in discomfort.
Part I. Why Sport Psychologists Teach How Peak Performance Occurs Through Seeking Comfort In Discomfort
People that are unfamiliar with the sport of NASCAR usually have a very poor understanding about the psychological and physical demands that drivers are under. These drivers experience immense pressure from their sponsors, fans and teammates to drive their car to perfection. Psychological demands include but are not limited to analyzing car data in real-time while driving at speeds of 200 MPH, making efficient decisions about when to make tactical pit stops which can result in lost position, avoiding high speed wrecks, maneuvering around rival drivers, maintaining composure when driving tight or loose, avoiding being intentionally wrecked by rival drivers, securing consistent top five finishes, and having successful qualifiers. These are just a fraction of the psychological obstacles these athletes face while competing in front of hundreds of thousands if not millions of spectators.
While there are psychological challenges unique to NASCAR, what is not unique is how one deals with the discomfort of pressure that comes during these performances. As I have stated in previous Training Report issues, at the end of the day all sports are problem solving experiences that are meant to induce maximum psychological and physical stress upon its’ participants. The athlete who endures these inductions of stress is usually the most successful. So how does one achieve peak performance in these situations? By seeking comfort in discomfort. What this means is rather than developing coping skills to avoid or manage the discomfort, athletes should seek to both understand and fully experience whatever their subjective discomfort is to the maximum possibility.
From a neuropsychological perspective when athletes partake in this type of activity this usually means that they are directly engaging with an area of the brain called the subcortical brain, which is responsible for physiological regulation. When we consider where mental flow states come from, most research seems to suggest that an athlete’s brain is primarily engaged in what is called bottom up processing…in simplest terms this means that the athlete is doing minimal critical thinking and letting their body reflexively react the way they have been training to. The more comfortable we become with the discomfort of pressure, the more comfortable we become in our body. The more comfortable we are in our body, the more access we have to it. And the more access we have to our body, odds are we will be the better athlete during the critical moment of performance.
Part II. Process Goal Orientation Is All That Matters For Athlete Performance
Many athletes early in their career are primarily driven by what is commonly known as outcome goals. Outcome goals refer to the ‘final destination’ of what an athlete is working towards (e.g. for NASCAR athletes, the ultimate prize would be to win the Cup Series). However, wanting to achieve outcome goals is as relevant as wanting to breathe. You understand that breathing is necessary to live, but odds are you don’t worry about it on a constant basis. In my work with NASCAR drivers these individuals certainly set outcome goals, but are much more focused on what is known as process goals. Think of process goals as the DNA for the overall outcome goal structure. Let’s explore what this looks like in more detail. Imagine that winning the cup series is your ultimate outcome goal, then following might be examples of process goals: regularly watch film of different tracks & drivers; focus on addressing unilateral deficiencies through prehab style strength & conditioning protocols; utilize a pre-performance sleep routine before bed & track sleep data; regularly assess recovery rate comparing psychometric assessments with HRV data; practice simulations as much as possible, etc.
Ultimately athletes should grade their success based on whether they have accomplished process goals rather than the outcome goals. But what is the connection between focusing on process goals and flow states? When athletes describe the experience of flow states they will often cite how there was a time distortion aspect. Usually things around the athlete tend to slow down and an athlete ‘loses themselves’ in the moment. An elite performer like a NASCAR driver cannot be focused on the potential outcome of a race, but rather what is happening in the moment. Athletes who are process focused are more likely to achieve a flow state as opposed to athletes who are living either too far into the future or the past. Taking a process goal focus is an important step to achieve flow states. Now that we have introduced the connection between process goals & flow states, there is one final practice athletes can engage in to create a flow state.
Part III. Mental Coaches, Brainspotting & Peak Psychological Performance For NASCAR Drivers
I have previously reviewed descriptions of a flow state experience, but let’s discuss what is actually happening in the brain during this process. Many people are probably familiar with the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how panic attacks are associated with this issue. One of the key aspects of panic attacks and PTSD is that people who experience these problems will frequently show signs of dissociation. Dissociation has been defined as ‘separation of some aspects of mental functioning from conscious awareness, leading to a degree of mental dysfunction’. Some symptoms can include feeling disconnected from one’s body, loss of awareness, and even time distortion. What research in neuroscience seems to suggest is that the areas of the brain responsible for PTSD dissociative responses also happen to be involved in creating flow states. But how can an area of the brain that is responsible for panic attacks be a source for mental peak performance?
The area of the brain responsible for panic attacks are referred to as subcortical brain structures. This area consists of diverse neural formations deep within the brain which include the diencephalon, pituitary gland, limbic structures and the basal ganglia. They are involved in complex activities such as memory, emotion, pleasure and hormone production. These same areas of the brain are also associated with regulation and dysregulation. The reason this is important is because many of the same symptoms that are associated with PTSD attacks (e.g. dissociation, time distortion, etc.) are also the same symptoms associated with flow states. Essentially, if dissociative symptoms are a coin, then flow states are the ‘positive’ side of that coin. While many athletes cite how flow state experiences randomly happen to them there is actually a way to consciously enter in and out of these experiences through a Brainspotting technique.
I have previously written about Brainspotting, but in summary this process looks to identify eye reflex positions associated with mental blocks. However, it also appears to be the case that flow states have eye reflex positions associated with these psychological experiences. This Brainspotting technique which is known as Expansion, essentially helps athletes ‘flip their brain’ to the positive side of a dissociative experience. Remember, as an athlete you spend excessive amounts of time practicing to create a reflexive reaction during competition. Your goal is not to overthink during critical moments, but to get out of your own way and let your body react. I’ll end on this note: sport psychologists mistakenly try to help athletes ‘get out of their head’. My response is rather then get out, let’s help you get into the right spot.
Note To Reader:
If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!
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