Mental Skills

Abstract

Abstract Can one train for peak performance? As a choral conductor, you are no different from an elite athlete. An athlete’s peak performance is the outcome of physical, technical, and mental factors, and so is yours. Mind and body cannot be separated in peak performance, which exhibits the strength of the mind-body link. In it, what one thinks is echoed by what one does. There is, of course, no substitute for complete mastery of technical skills—stick technique, an informed ear, effective leadership, and so on. However, the higher the level of physical and technical skills, the more important the mental aspects of performance become. For example, during the Olympics, every competitor has high technical and physical skills. That is why Olympic athletes readily admit that mental skills alone make the difference between the winners and losers in those contests. As Mark Spitz said in Montreal, after winning seven gold medals: “At this level of physical skill, the difference between winning and losing is 99 percent psychological.” The great golfer Jack Nicklaus said, “Mental preparation is the single most critical element in peak performance” (emphasis added).