The Mental Skill That Keeps One Mistake From Becoming Three
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Have you ever looked at an old strip of movie film? Not the digital kind we watch today. I mean actual film…the long strip filled with individual pictures.
Each picture captures one moment. And between every picture is a thin black line separating it from the next one. Actually, if you think about it, each picture is in its own black box…each is surrounded by black.
Picture. Black line. New picture. Black line. New picture.
When the film moves correctly, all those separate pictures create a movie.
But imagine what would happen without the black lines in between!
Every picture would run into the next one. You couldn’t tell where one ended and another began. Instead of a clear movie, you would get a blur. The first image of Toy Story 5, or any movie for that matter, would be one quick picture…then…BLUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
And if the film stopped moving altogether? You wouldn’t have a movie then, either. You would have a still image.
This is exactly what happens to us when we perform.
Every pitch, possession, play, point, conversation, sales call, class or decision is a different picture in our movie.
That picture happens…and then it is over.
But we don’t always leave it there, do we? NOPE!!!!! NO WAY!!! Not happening…often enough, at least!
We miss a shot and carry it into the next defensive possession. We make an error and take it into the next pitch. We don’t get the call, dislike the coach’s decision or stumble through part of a presentation…and suddenly one picture is bleeding into every picture that follows.
Instead of playing the next play, we are still replaying the last one.
The pictures begin to run together. And now we have a blur.
Or we make one mistake and get stuck staring at it.
We analyze it. Judge it. Predict what it means. Imagine what everyone else is thinking. We stop moving through the film because we are frozen on one lousy frame.
Now we have a still image.
Neither creates the movie we want. Because our brains don’t always leave the last picture behind!
Researchers call part of this problem attention residue.
Researcher Sophie Leroy found that when we move from one task to another, part of our attention can remain stuck on what we were doing before. Even though we have physically moved on, our brains may still be processing the previous task and that residue can interfere with what we are doing now.
In other words, our body may be standing in the next picture while our attention is still hanging around in the last one.
Research on what happens after errors also shows that mistakes can capture our attention and affect how we respond next. Scientists have repeatedly observed post-error slowing, a change in response speed following a mistake. Sometimes slowing down helps us adjust, but it isn’t automatically productive. At times, the error simply disrupts attention and interferes with the next response.
This means “forget about it” isn’t a particularly useful performance strategy. If it were that easy, everyone would already be doing it!
We don’t need to pretend the last picture didn’t happen. We need a way to separate it from the next one. We need to put the black back between the pictures.
The black comes back when we Notice --> Choose --> Now.
The black line is not a magic phrase that erases mistakes, frustration, pressure or distractions. It is a practiced pause that helps us recognize where our attention has gone and deliberately bring it back to what this picture requires.
That process starts with three simple words above: NOTICE. CHOOSE. NOW.
NOTICE
Where is my attention?
Am I still in the last picture? Am I worrying about a picture that hasn’t happened yet? Am I replaying the mistake, fighting the call or thinking about how all of this is going to turn out?
We cannot redirect attention we haven’t noticed has wandered. And noticing does not mean criticizing ourselves for losing focus. Minds wander. Emotions show up. Mistakes grab our attention.
The goal is not perfect focus. The goal is noticing sooner.
CHOOSE
Once I notice where my attention has gone, I get to choose what I do with it.
Do I need a breath? A focal point? A physical cue? A word or phrase? Do I need to adjust my posture, widen my vision, gather useful information or reconnect with my plan?
This is where our tools create the black line.
A physiological sigh. One look at the target. “See the ball.” “Win this possession.” Shoulders back. Eyes up. One clear piece of information.
The tool can be simple because its job is simple: Separate the last picture from this one.
And research tells us these little routines matter. When researchers combined the findings from numerous studies on pre-performance routines, they found that athletes who used them performed better in both lower-pressure and pressure situations. Why? Because a routine helps organize our attention around what is useful NOW instead of leaving it wherever the last picture took it. (Rupprecht, et.al., 2021)
The black line does not need to be long. It needs to be deliberate.
NOW
What does this picture require? Not three plays from now. Not later today. Not what I should have done 30 seconds ago.
What do I need to do now? NOW gives our attention a destination.
Because “stop thinking about the mistake” leaves the brain with an empty assignment.
NOW gives it something useful to find, like the target, the hitter’s tendencies, the next pass, the next step, the person in front of us, the words we want to communicate. There is ALWAYS something familiar and important…something we pay attention to instinctively in non-pressure situations. We know What’s Important NOW…W.I.N.!
NOTICE identifies where our attention is.CHOOSE gives us response-ability.NOW puts us back into the current picture.
You may be thinking, “Wait…haven’t we used Notice - Truth - Next. before?”
We have! And we still will. The two tools are related, but they solve slightly different problems.
Notice. Truth. Next. is most useful when our brain is creating a story about what happened.
“I always mess up when it matters.” “The coach has lost confidence in me.” “We are falling apart.” “I’m going to blow this.” You know…the all-too-familiar lines that seem to show up when we need them the least!
In these situations, we NOTICE the thought or story. We identify the TRUTH, what we actually know without the judgment, exaggeration or prediction. Then we choose the NEXT useful action.
“I always mess up when it matters” becomes: Notice: That is the story my brain is telling me.Truth: I made one mistake.Next: Breathe, get information and prepare for the next play.
Notice. Truth. Next. helps us stop the story.
Notice. Choose. Now. helps us direct our attention.
One asks: What story am I telling myself about what happened? The other asks: Where does my attention need to go right now?
Sometimes we need to check the truth before we can move forward. Other times, we simply need to notice that our attention is in the wrong picture, choose a tool and return to this one.
Both keep one moment from hijacking the rest of our movie.
How do we build our “black line”?
This week, identify the moments when your pictures tend to run together. After a mistake? When you don’t get the call? When someone challenges your decision? When you begin worrying about the outcome? When you start replaying something you cannot change?
Then create your black-line routine:
NOTICE: Where is my attention?
CHOOSE: What tool will help me return?
NOW: What does this picture require?
For example:
NOTICE: I’m still carrying the last play.CHOOSE: Exhale, release my shoulders and find my external target.NOW: Read the formation and communicate.
Coaches and leaders can help by using the same language: “New picture.” “Put the black between them.” “What does this picture need?” “Notice. Choose. Now.”
Because the goal is not to create a movie without mistakes, uncomfortable moments or disappointing pictures. Every good movie has those!
The goal is to keep one difficult picture from becoming the whole story.
Let each moment give you information. Let it end. Then choose what the next picture will look like.
Picture. Black line. New picture. NOTICE. CHOOSE. NOW.
That is how we keep performing. And that is how we create a movie worth watching.
Manage the moments!
Julie
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
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