Skandia Team GBR s Psychologist, Ben Chell, has help us build our confidence, increase our concentration and in the final chapter of our four part series, reveals the techniques we can use to beef up our sense of control in race situations.

Part four - Feeling in control

Whether we are sailors, astronauts or the prime minister one thing is for sure, in life things will not always go the way we want them to. When we experience a set-back we almost always experience an emotion to accompany this set-back whether it is disappointment, or more commonly, frustration or anger.

Engaging in thoughts that elicit such strong emotions will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the task being performed. What many people don t understand is that we have control over our thoughts and emotions. Therefore, we have a choice as to how we respond. The key is acceptance.

To create self-awareness and feel in control whilst sailing, particularly when things don t go your way, try working on the following exercise:

• Start to become more aware of the thoughts and emotions that you experience when something doesn t go your way (e.g. you drop your ice cream, someone pulls out in front of you whilst your driving, the parcel that you are waiting for doesn t arrive on time).
• Start to practice choosing your response to the situation that helps your performance and minimises stress rather than allowing your response to become driven by your emotion.
• Then, in training at first, start to do the same in sailing, eventually incorporating this into your racing procedure.
• Use the re-focussing routine to get back to the here and now.

This skill is most effective when it becomes a lifestyle change rather than just a strategy used in sailing. This is one of the hardest mental skills to master as it often means breaking cognitive (the way we think) and behavioural habits that have become engrained over many years.

Remember this, and all the other strategies highlighted in this article, need to be worked at. Perseverance is the key here. Be realistic in your expectations - do not expect instantaneous success and best of luck in your quest to become a more mentally tough sailor or athlete.