Psychology of High Performance - Session 1

Have you ever heard of a man called Cliff Young? He was an unknown 61-year old farm worker who entered a long distance running race from Melbourne to Sydney. He had little idea of what was a good or bad time and he beat some of the world’s greatest athletes – by 50 miles!

The British athlete Roger Bannister is much better known. He was the first person to run a mile in less than four minutes. But it is sometimes forgotten that, shortly after Roger’s achievement, many athletes broke this barrier. Something “opened the floodgates” once one person had broken the barrier.

Cliff Young

Let’s start by taking a look at a few examples found in sport.

Click on each number to view an example >>

It is now accepted that Cliff Young’s and Roger Bannister’s success had a psychological cause in that there is a strong link between body and mind. Conversely, there are times when people fail on the verge of success – almost as if they fear succeeding.

Before we move on, have a go at these two simple exercises and start thinking about your own beliefs.

Now go on to page 3 where we will take a look at the link between mind and body in some more detail.