(Bilingual Post) 本文是兩週前一篇分享文裡提到的那本新書中第四部分的精華摘錄的中譯版，主要談 運動賽事迎戰心態 的準備。Here are the highlights from the last section in the book titled “Mindset” that I mentioned in my previous post introducing this book.) Building up the mindset on the road to your big race. (From the book “Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports” by Marc Bubbs)
“你最主要的競爭對手不是別人，是(你自己的)人性。”
“Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.”
– Bobby Knight, American NCAA Basketball Coach
1. Again, let’s start with sleep.
跟其他三個主題討論的一樣，引導你走向健康常勝的心態還是要從睡眠開始
Getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night can significantly impair your immunity, worsen blood sugar control, and harm your memory and executive brain function. A 2014 study found a lack of sleep also impairs your ability to disengage from negative thoughts.
每晚睡不到七小時會嚴重降低你的免疫力，讓你的血糖很難持穩，減弱你的記憶力和大腦判斷決策功能 (不要懷疑，大腦判斷決策功能絕對跟你的運動表現有關)。還有，2014年的一篇研究報告指出，缺乏睡眠會明顯削弱你遠離負面思維的能力。
2. The Power of Positive Self-Talk
正面自我對話的魔力
Serena Williams, arguably the greatest female tennis player of all time, was reported to be seen during the game changeovers in her matches reviewing a small notebook in her lap with the following mantra:
很多人公認是史上最厲害的女子網球選手史麗娜威廉斯，曾在比賽換場休息的時候被發現坐著在詳讀腿上的一本筆記簿，那本筆記簿上面寫著：
“You will move up”
“You will add spin”
“You are #1”
“You will win Wimbledon!”
“你的排名會往上爬升”
“你打出去的球轉速會增加”
“你是第一名”
“你會贏得溫布頓冠軍”
Will Hart, PhD, renowned professor at the University of Alabama, uncovered how the language you use to describe your situation—in sport or in life—determines how you actually see it, experience it, and participate in it. Positive self-talk is a proven strategy for boosting confidence, mood, and productivity.
有名的阿拉巴馬州大學教授威爾哈特博士曾經發現，不管是在運動或生活中，你用來描述你目前處境的語言會決定你對當下處境的看法、體驗、和投入的方式。正面的自我對話是一個已經被證明可以提升你的自信心、心情、和工作效率的策略。
You need to be assertive in your self-talk: “I am … I will … I embrace …” Once you find yourself using the word “but,” you’re turning yourself into the victim. To develop a champion mindset, you cannot be a victim. As the well-known Roman philosopher Epictetus said, “Circumstances don’t make the man, they only reveal him to himself.” You can’t control what happens to you, but you’re 100 percent responsible for how you react to those events.
你自我對話的口氣必須是果斷的： “我是… 我會… 我全心擁抱…”。一旦你開始使用”但是”這種字眼，你就會把自己變成是一個 受害者。如果想建立常勝軍的心態，就不可以把自己看成是一個受害者。就如有名的羅馬哲學家艾比克提特說的，”遭遇和處境不會朔造決定一個人，只會帶給一個人啟示”。 你無法掌控什麼樣的事情會發生在你身上，但是，對發生在你身上的事情要做出什麼樣的反應，你負有有百分之百的責任！
In his book “Unfu*k Yourself”, personal development coach Gary Bishop teaches a practical and engaging way to build more positive self-talk. Try repeating one of the following mantras to yourself every morning when you get up, or paste it on your mirror so that you can read it every day:
個人發展教練蓋瑞比索在他一本叫做”別再糟蹋自己”的書裡講了一個很實際有效的方法可以建立正面的自我對話：每天早上起床後重複對自己訴訟下面這幾句話，或把它貼在鏡子上每天看：
“I am willing …”
“I expect nothing. I accept everything …”
“I embrace uncertainty …”
“我很願意…”
“我無所期待，我接受一切…”
“我願意擁抱不確定性…”
防彈大叔分享：我常用的的正面自我對話有：
A.) “I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving , harmonious, and happy.”
B.) “_ _ 加油！” (空白處是任何一位常給我加油打氣的鐵友的名字）
C.) I am going to aim high and kick ass. The UNIVERSE has my back.
3. Beware of too much confidence
要注意不要太過自信
At the extremes of confidence you have hubris. Not only do you become overconfident, but you become more self-centered and narcissistic. Even worse, too much confidence makes you less likely to take advice, be it from coaches, teammates, performance staff, or others.
過度的自信會變成狂妄，你會變得不只是過度自信，而且會變成以自我為中心、太過自戀。更糟的是你會比較不容易聽進去別人給你的建言，不管是來自教練、隊友、績效評估人員或其他的人。
The research shows the problem with confidence is that it’s either delusional or contingent.
Delusional confidence is thinking you’re better than you actually are. While contingent confidence is when your sense of self-assurance is dependent on something in particular. In elite athletes, it’s typically the fact that they are the “all-star”. If your self-worth is tied up too tightly in your performance, it will eventually take a hit and you may not be able to absorb the blow.
研究指出過度的自信可以分成兩種，第一種是誇大的妄想，第二種是有附帶條件。第一種是自我感覺的良好超過實際上的自己；第二總是把對自己能力和成就的肯定和某個人事物掛勾，以菁英選手來說，往往就是「頂尖明星選手」的頭銜。如果你的自我肯定完全只能用比賽的成績和名次來決定的話，遇到遲早總是會來的一次挫敗時可能就無法承受。
4. Mindfulness
觀自在 (以下簡稱自觀)
(小編註：這個英文單字在Google 搜尋找到的中譯大多是”正念”，但我覺得誤差太大，其實mindfulness的概念跟佛教裡的般若心經 講的觀自在很接近）
When you’re doing nothing your brain is very active. It’s actually more active than when you’re engaged in a complex task. Why? The work of neuroscientist Marcus Raichle, PhD, at Washington University attempted to answer this perplexing question. Your brain uses about 20 percent of your body’s metabolic energy, and that doesn’t change, regardless if you’re sleeping or solving a complex math problem. Dr. Raichle identified the default mode network—areas of the brain that calm down during a precise task when the brain is focused, but then ramp back up once the mental task is finished. In his research, when he asked participants what they were thinking about when they were doing nothing, they reported their minds were ablaze with all sorts of thoughts. “Am I doing this task correctly?”; “I wonder what they’re trying to figure out about me?”; and so forth. Raichle discovered that when the mind wanders, it wanders to something about “myself”: my training, my nutrition, my Instagram post, my stress, my life. This default mode frames everything in terms of how it impacts “I” or “self,” effectively making you the center of your own universe. A recent Harvard study found that 50 percent of the time our minds are wandering, which means this default mode is constantly running, putting ourselves on center stage as the star in our own movie. What’s the problem with being the star of the show? Unfortunately, as mindfulness experts all seem to agree, a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Making matters worse, we seem biologically driven to think about threats. Our brains default to the bad stuff that happens to us rather than the positives, which can be a major performance roadblock for athletes.
當你沒有在做任何事情的時候你的大腦其實是非常活躍的，比你在做一件很複雜的工作時還要活躍。怎麼說呢？華盛頓大學的腦神經科學家 #馬可仕瑞科博士 試圖去回答這個複雜的問題(註1)：人體新陳代謝所產生的能量有20%是大腦在用的，而且，很神奇的，這個數字是固定不變的，不管你是在睡覺還是在解一個複雜的數學問題。瑞科博士發現人腦中有一個叫做 #預設模式網路 的區域，當一個人很專注地在做一件定義明確的工作的時候，腦中這個區域會很明顯地平靜下來，專注的工作一旦結束，這個區域就立即活躍起來。在這個研究裡，瑞科博士問實驗的參與者，當你們沒有在做任何事情的時候你腦子在想什麼？參與實驗的人回答說，就是在想一些有的沒有的，例如，”剛才實驗裡我的做法正確嗎？”, “他們到底要從這個實驗裡頭了解我什麼？”，諸如此類的想法… 瑞科博士發現，當他們的腦子在東想西想的時候，基本上都是圍繞著 ”我自己”：我的訓練、我的營養、我剛分享的IG照片、我的壓力、我的生活。這個 “預設模式網路” 會使你看所有的事情都從「自我」的觀點出發，結果是你的世界就是以你自己為中心。最近哈佛有一份研究報告發現一般人有50%的時間腦子裡是在漫遊式地東想西想，也就是處於 “預設模式”，結果就是人們常常都變成是他腦海裡一直在上映的那齣電影裡頭的主角。當這樣的主角有什麼不好呢？所有Mindfulness (自觀心理學)的專家似乎都同意常常東想西想的人往往都是不快樂的人 (註2)。更糟糕的是，從人類遺傳生理學來看，人類天生很自然地會先想到的是 ＃環境周遭對自己的威脅，在沒有特殊情況下我們會先想到的(預設模式)往往是壞事而不是好事，這種頃向對運動員在賽事上的表現會是個常見的障礙。
防彈大叔補充1: 預設模式網路 是近代腦神經放射科學領域的一項重大發現。發現者是擁有美國國家科學院院士頭銜的馬可仕瑞科博士 (Dr. Marcus Raichel) 。在這個領域裡，瑞科博士的貢獻包括多個有歷史性突破的里程碑，包括2001年發表的一套空前的腦神經研究方法和策略，導致人腦中這個過去科學家們毫無所知的 ”預設模式網路“的發現。對瑞科博士更詳細的介紹在這裡 https://sites.wustl.edu/nillabs/people/marcus-e-raichle/
防彈大叔補充2: 在心理學領域，“常東想西想的人往往都是不快樂的人” 是ㄧ篇很有名的研究報告，有興趣進一步了解的人可以讀一下：A paper by Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert http://www.danielgilbert.com/KILLINGSWORTH%20&%20GILBERT%20(2010).pdf
The author of the famous book “Emotional Intelligence”, Dr. Goleman says people need to “strengthen the muscle of the mind (that is, learn to be mindful more of the time… which is attention.” How? The answer is #meditation. Meditation is a tool to help build your capacity to hold attention. During meditation, your mind wanders and your attention loosens (and when you’re a beginner, it feels like all it does is wander!). The practice of meditation helps you to bring it back.
心理學大師，名著”Emotional Intelligence”作者歌曼博士認為，人們應該要強化”心神的肌肉”(muscle of the mind)，也就是說要在平時多學習”專注自觀”的能力，(怎麼練肌肉大家都知道，但心神的肌肉要怎麼練呢？) 答案就是：#冥想。冥想是一個幫助你建立專注能力的工具；在冥想的時候，你會發現你的心思毫無章理地的東想西想，尤其是初學者。練習冥想會幫助你把自己的心思(thoughts, 心神 mind)拉回來。
Building mindfulness and cultivating the moment-to-moment awareness of your surroundings helps you cope with negative thoughts and feelings that cause stress and anxiety. Practicing mindfulness helps you harness the energy of your emotions toward your goals, which helps prevent you from being the victim of negative self-talk and self-sabotage. Creating a clear, calm, and assertive mind through mindfulness practice will help you overcome whatever challenges are thrown your way. The following are three simple techniques to try: mindful breathing, mindful awareness, and mindful immersion.
建立自觀能力，培養對於周遭事物無時無刻的知覺(或更準確的說應該是自覺)，可以幫助你對於負面想法的反應，進而幫你舒壓解憂。練習自觀能力可以幫助你把有情緒時的負面能量昇華成幫你往目標前進的能量，進而防止自己變成負面的自我對話中的受害者甚至是自我毁滅者。透過練習自觀去建立一個清晰、沉著、和果決的心神 (mind)可以讓你更能克服生活中的各種突發而來的挑戰。下面是三個簡單的培養自觀能力的方法：
4.1 Mindful breathing is a simple and highly effective strategy that a lot of coaches have brought into their training programs. It’s a great strategy to use during a warm-up or cooldown period. Here is how it goes:
自觀呼吸： 一般被用來當作冥想之前的熱身準備，或是結束後的舒緩。方法如下：
Lie on the ground with your knees bent and feet on the floor.
Place your hands on your abdomen (or use a small weighted object).
Breathe in, focusing on your belly rising up to the sky as you inhale.
Breathe out, feeling your belly move down toward your spine as you exhale.
Aim for 2–4 seconds per inhale and exhale.
👃背部平躺在地板，膝蓋打彎，雙腳平放在地板上
👃把雙手放在小腹上，或是在小腹上放一個有點重量的物件
👃吸氣，注意你的小腹這時候應該要往上也就是往天花板的方向上升
👃吐氣，專注去感覺這時候你的小腹應該是朝你的下背部脊椎下沉
防彈大叔補充說明：吸氣和吐氣的時候你的胸腔要避免有太大的起伏；吸氣和吐氣都是各維持2到4秒鐘；如果你做得到，吸氣吐氣各維持4秒甚至8秒會更好。
4.2 Mindful awareness is the practice of clearing your head of negative thoughts. Sit in a comfortable position for 10 minutes and just let your
thoughts appear. If negative thoughts crop up, label them as such, and picture yourself discarding them in the garbage. Detach yourself from the negative thoughts.
自觀自覺：這個練習的目的是要讓你學習如何把腦中的負面想法很快的排除掉。找個舒服的找個舒服的地方坐下來，全身放鬆，維持10分鐘左右，任你腦海中的任何想法自由浮現；如果是負面的想法，就把它標示成負面想法，然後想像你把它扔到垃圾桶裡如果是負面的想法，就把它標示成負面想法，然後想像你把它扔到垃圾桶裡， 讓自己遠離負面想法。
防彈大叔補充說明：這裡有一個很重要的心法，就是有負面想法時不要感到挫折、難過或失望，大部分的人都會有負面想法，就抱著平常心把它放到垃圾桶裡去就是了，不只是不要感到挫折，也不要有對自己或任何其他人或環境有任何的主觀批判
4.3 Mindful immersion is simply relishing mundane tasks. Such tasks can be an opportunity to “turn off” the default mode of your brain and actually sink your focus deep into the chores you’re doing, be it washing the dishes, folding clothes, or preparing your food for the next day.
自觀沈浸： 就是讓自己沉浸在一些平凡甚至單調的重複性工作裡。這樣做會讓你有機會把你的腦中的默認模式網路關閉，讓你很深沈地投入目前手上的工作，即使是瑣碎的事情如洗碗盤、摺衣服、或準備明天要吃的午餐。
There are countless different methods to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into your day; the trick is to find the one you enjoy and try to adhere to it for 8–10 consecutive weeks to maximize the benefit.
其實還有很多其他的方法可以幫助你學會冥想和自觀的日常習慣。要學會的注意事項之一是要找到你喜歡的方法，讓你可以持續地每天做，維持8到10個星期後，大概就可以入門了
5. Self-compassion 自我疼惜，別太苛求自己
Mindfulness—the ability to maintain attention and laserlike focus under pressure—is a characteristic shared by many legendary athletes, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Clayton Kershaw, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s also a common characteristic in a much less desirable group: psychopaths.
自觀是一種在任何的巨大壓力下都可以維持專注力的能力，很多傳奇性的運動員都有這樣的特質，例如Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Clayton Kershaw, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Cristiano Ronaldo. 但自觀也是另一個比較不是那麼好的族群的人的共同特點：心理人格變態的人！
Some of the traits of psychopaths are shared by elite athletes, and thus beneficial for elite performance, the obvious question is: How can you maximize the beneficial traits of psychopaths while minimizing the negative traits—like narcissism, insensitivity, and lack of empathy (and of course, the really bad ones like propensity to sudden violence!)? The answer may lie in self-compassion. Self-compassion helps build resiliency, fights off the “poor me” mentality, and is an even more powerful intervention than positive self-talk. Self-compassion is also essential for building a solid foundation of emotional intelligence: recognizing the emotions others are feeling, managing them, and avoiding being overwhelmed; demonstrating a high level of motivation; and recognizing the emotional response of others and using this awareness to effectively manage relationships. These skills are crucial for athletic (and life) success. (Note that self-compassion is not weakness, self-pity, or complacency.)
心理人格變態的人的一些人格特質其實在許多菁英運動選手身上都可以看得到，這些特點對菁英運動員的非凡表現其實是有幫助的，問題是要如何把心理變態的人格裡好的特質表現出來，不好的特質給壓抑下來？(負面的特質包括自戀、對旁人不敏感、缺乏同理心等等，當然還有更糟的像是突發的暴力頃向) 答案可能就是去培養一種「有時要善待自己、自我疼惜的認知」。這種認知和心態可以幫助運動員建立抗壓性，避免一種自憐自艾的心態。這個方法甚至比上面提到的正面自我對話的方法更有效。自我疼惜的心態對於建立穩健的情緒商數(EQ)也很有很重要，會幫助你更能體會旁人的情緒，加以管理，避免自己也受到影響，幫助你維持良好的人際關係。這些技巧在運動賽事上或日常生活中都很重要。最後，自我憐惜不等於是脆弱、自憐、或無知的自滿哦。
