Don’t Let the Past Call the Play
- Julie Jones
- 24 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Last week, we talked about being where your feet are.
This week, let’s talk about why that can be so hard… especially under pressure.
Because it’s not just your thoughts that show up in those moments. It’s your history.
Over the past few months, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and learning about grief. One of the most powerful things I’ve come across is the idea that the brain is constantly updating its internal map of the world.
When something significant happens, especially something emotional, the brain has to relearn what’s true.
And here’s what stood out to me.
The old pathways don’t just disappear.
Your brain still expects what used to be true to be true. So, it keeps pulling from those old patterns, those old emotional experiences, even when the situation in front of you is different.
That doesn’t just apply to grief. It applies to performance.
Your brain and body store experiences, not evenly, but emotionally. The moments that carry the most emotion, especially the hard ones, get tagged and stored more strongly.
So, when you step into a pressure situation, your brain isn’t just reacting to what’s happening.
It’s predicting.
“This feels like last year.” “Here we go again.” “We struggled in this spot before.”
And before you even consciously think about it, your body is already responding. Our heart rate changes. Muscles tighten. Focus narrows in the wrong direction.
Not because you’re weak. Not because you’re not prepared. Because your system is doing exactly what it’s designed to do.
It’s pulling from what it remembers most.
And here’s the problem. Most athletes don’t train what they remember.
They replay mistakes. They relive failure. They reinforce the exact patterns they’re trying to avoid.
Our brain remembers what we repeat way easier than what we do!!!! So, when pressure hits, that’s what shows up first.
I’ve seen this in my own life recently. It’s incredible how quickly the mind goes back to what felt the strongest, not necessarily what’s most helpful in the moment.
That awareness matters. Because if your brain is going to predict, then we need to give it something better to pull from.
That’s where the highlight reel comes in. This is not just positive thinking. This is training your system.
The “winner effect” shows us that when you experience success, even mentally, your confidence and performance increase. Your body begins to recognize, “this is what we do.”
So instead of letting your first reaction be, “here we go again,” we replace it with, “we’ve been here, and here’s how we do it.”
Here’s how to use it: Take 60–90 seconds before practice, before competition, or during a reset.
Run your highlight reel! It can be as simple as a recent awesome experience, play, pitch or shot! See yourself executing well. Feel the pace, the timing, the confidence. Notice what your body feels like when you’re at your best.
Not perfect. Just you, doing what you do well.
Then, when you step into the moment, your body has something to recognize.
Instead of reacting to the past, it responds to the pattern you’ve trained. This is how you shift from “I hope this goes well” to “I know what this feels like.” Because you’ve felt it before. And you’ve practiced feeling it again.
This doesn’t mean you ignore mistakes. It means you don’t let them be the loudest voice in your system.
So, this week, be intentional about what you replay!!
Before your next game, your next performance, your next big moment...don’t wait to see how you feel. Train how you want to feel.
Build your highlight reel.Run it.Repeat it.
And when that moment comes, and your brain starts to say, “here we go again…”
You’ll be ready to answer, “Yeah… we’ve been here before. And this is what we do.”
Julie
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946