Author’s Note: I recently spoke with a club soccer team about to enter league play after a non-league schedule that can best be described as “up and down”. The following was part of our discussion.
Look at optical illusion – what do you see?
Perception’s a funny thing – we can all look at the same thing – but see things differently. Illusions like the one above work because the contours of one image match the contours of the other in such a way as to confuse the brain in to perceiving two interpretations of what is there.
Take a look at the next illusion – what do you see?
4 wins – 1 loss – 3 ties
Some look at the 3 ties and see missed opportunities
Some look at the 4 wins and only see a .500 club
Some look at the 1 and see a hard-fighting team with only 1 loss. – And they’re all correct.
Paying too much attention to team records can be an illusion. Nothing’s as good as it seems, nothing’s as bad as it seems, somewhere in between reality lies. Successful teams don’t ride the emotional roller coaster of a season by being too up or too down.
You can’t drive down the road with your face stuck in the rearview mirror.
I rarely use the word “win” like most people do. To me – W.I.N. stands for “What’s Important Now?” The most important thing you can do now use today and tomorrow’s practices to tune up for league play.
ekingston
gchertok
Doug Gardner
Matt Cuccaro, Ed.M.
AHNaylor
Professional Sport Psychology Symposium 
I really enjoyed this post, and its inspired my next post. I’ve often curbed hubris with the thought “you’re not as good as you think you are”, and brought myself through some dark times by thinking “you’re not as bad as you think”. We always have a choice in how we interpret any given situation; it’s important to find the view which best motivates us to move forward. The question “what’s important now?” can help us get there.