Focus on What You Can See – Making Progress When the Road Isn’t Clear
- Julie Jones
- 42 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Last night, I was driving home in the rain — the kind that makes you lean forward, squint and search for the defrost button. And every time headlights passed, oh boy! The lines on the road seemed faded. I wondered if my eyesight was fading too. Was it the glare off my progressive lenses or the windshield wipers not doing their job? Add a little fog, and everything looked uncertain.
It was uncomfortable. I didn’t love it.
And it made me realize something.
Even though I couldn’t see everything clearly, including the signs, the horizon, or the next few miles, I could see what was right in front of me. The cars ahead, the road edge, the next turn.
That was enough to keep moving safely and steadily forward.
How often do we treat life, training or competition like that rainy drive, wishing the view were clearer, the plan were easier or the conditions were perfect before we make a decision, make a move or fully commit?
The truth is, we rarely get perfect visibility in performance – or anything else for that matter!
Whether it’s a season full of unknowns, a lineup that keeps changing or a role that feels unclear, waiting for certainty stalls progress.
This same theme showed up earlier today at our North Ridgeville High School leadership session. I gave the teams a challenge, and the first thing I heard sounded like uncertainty! “We have to do that with this?”
I let them brainstorm, make some plans, fret a bit and question the validity of their ideas. They were making some progress with tempered enthusiasm. They just weren’t sure!
Then, I handed them one foot of tape. Just 12 inches or blue painters’ tape.
Instantly, their mindset changed. The tape felt like a lifesaver. Suddenly, they saw new options, new hope, even though, in the end, that tiny added supply didn’t actually solve anything.
What changed wasn’t their RESOURCES. It was their PERCEPTION.
And that’s what happens to all of us. We overvalue what we don’t have and undervalue what’s already right in front of us.
That little bit of tape didn’t fix the problem, but it did change the way they looked at it. They didn’t need more. They thought they needed more. Just like the light from my headlights didn’t show me the whole road, but I thought I needed more…even though what they showed me was enough to act.
When we focus on what’s missing or uncertain, our brain shifts into what psychologists call a threat state. Our attention narrows, creativity drops and energy goes toward protecting rather than performing (Eysenck & Derakshan, 2007).
But when we anchor attention on what’s visible, controllable and actionable, we enter a challenge state, which improves focus, energy efficiency and our decision-making.
This is supported by Lazarus & Folkman’s cognitive appraisal theory, which tells us that it’s not the situation itself, but how we interpret it that determines our stress and our success.
Add in motor learning research and we find that a constraints-led approach shows that working within limits, like imperfect weather, missing gear or uncertain roles, can actually enhance adaptability and creativity.
How often have you felt as if you didn’t have enough…enough energy…enough practice…enough confidence? I remember my high school cross country coach saying, “Good. You’re going to have a great race today,” when I told her I didn’t feel well before a race. She knew I had all I needed…and that this scarcity mindset would make me focus more…and ultimately run better! And lo and behold…she was right!
Translation? You don’t need perfect conditions. You need presence.
When things feel murky, whether it’s the pressure, your schedule or the path forward, we need to ask ourselves:
“What can we see clearly right now?”
Then act on that.
Once you take that step, you’ll see a little farther. Then a little farther.
I knew the tape wouldn’t solve the problem. I could help, but it wasn’t the end-all, be-all that the teams thought it was. But I knew they thought they needed more. They couldn’t see what was in front of them clearly enough to understand they had all they needed. This one piece seemed like the light they were missing.
No doubt it gave them a boost. But the boost wasn’t what they needed. In fact, it may have boosted them right off a winning plan because they thought they needed more! Sometimes, the illusion of more makes us forget what’s already working. It can make us relax and work with less scrutiny.
So, when teams or individuals feel “stuck,” handing them more tape might change their energy for a minute. But it also changes their focus. It moved this group from grinding it out, having tough discussions, making uncertain and tough decisions, but collaborating and doing all they could with what they had, to a quick and “easy solution” that didn’t solve anything.
Maybe it’s best, when stuck, to hand people perspective by asking, “What do we already have that we’re not using?” or “What’s the next small action we can take with what’s in front of us?”.
Now we are reframing limitations as opportunities. It’s a mindset shift that separates elite performers from the rest.
We don’t need to see the whole road to reach our destination. We just need to trust what we can see, and as Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are.”
So this week, whether the conditions are foggy, the plan feels incomplete or the tools seem limited, remember Progress doesn’t require perfect visibility. It requires steady focus on what’s right in front of you.
And while we’re quoting important historical figures, remember what MLK Jr. said. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Rainy or not, if we focus on what’s in front of us, we have what we need to move forward!
Manage the moments!
Julie
P.S. Bring me to campus for a mental performance workshop! Your team will walk out with tools they can use before your next practice! Reach out and let’s build the perfect one for you! Shoot me an email or text – juliej@ssbperformance.com or 234-206-0946
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
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