A composed athlete remains put together, regardless of circumstances and it is reflected in their body language, attitude, and overall presence.
Composure starts with attitude, how a person carries themselves. It means having a certain style in and outside the game. It is not about what you do; it’s how you do it. The Adaptive Mindset System is composed of the ultimate elements you must dominate to develop maximum composure. This book is packed with practical exercises that will have an immediate impact on your emotional well-being and ultimately your performance.
Table of contents
Section 1 ~ Taking ownership of your composure
Losing your cool
Why should you focus on developing composure?
Body language is vital in athletics
Developing composure with motor control
Keeping a positive attitude at all times
Staying lucid under pressure
Modeling composure
Section 2 ~ The dark side of the automatic mental mode
When imagination creates reality
Avoidance: response of the automatic mental mode
Handling fear and overcoming anxiety
Understanding anger
Exploring what lurks behind anger
Identify thought patterns that fuel your anger
Strategies to handle anger
Practice activation of the adaptive mental mode
Section 3 ~ Shedding the old labels
Operators focus on their identity, not their goals
Understanding the identity and emotion connection
Upgrading your identity through belief recalibration
Setting yourself free – How your past experience can elevate your anxiety
Creating an alter ego
Section 4 ~ Building a strong foundation of confidence
Taking ownership of your confidence
Building confidence
Anchoring a confidence state
Creating a mental pre-performance routine
Section 5 ~ Losing self-consciousness with preparation
Mastering your skills
Developing heightened focus
I am not feeling like it
Modifying your state of consciousness with hypnosis
Changing your emotional state to boost energy
Finding fluidity for effective gesture via muscular relaxation
Preparing through visualization
Committing to mental toughness
About the authors
Stephanie Cunha is a biochemist and entrepreneur in the mental strength training industry. She obtained in 2008 her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Biochemistry at the prestigious University of Lyon 1 in France. Passionate by the function of the body’s molecules on the brain and emotions, she developed practical tools for athletes to optimize their mindset, which will become later on the Adaptive Mindset System TM.
Lisa Lucchesi is a leader at Nike in all things related to testing, with a motto of “you make it, she breaks it.” Prior to her work at Nike, she was a product developer for 15 years in the medical device industry, taking products from concept, scale-up, and tech transfer, all the way through commercialization. Her pet projects included wound dressings for severe bleeding for the military that received the second-fastest FDA approval and were awarded status among the top 10 greatest Army inventions of 2004. Her passion and expertise is in developing fast, effective, and relevant strategies for iterative improvements in products, sports, and life.