Myth #3 Debunked: Part 7

Now that you have written down your problems you need to move on to Step 2:

 

Step 2: When did the problem first appear?

 

Stop back and think back to when the problem first appeared.  This is very important.  It can narrow down your search for what is causing the problem to occur.  Look in your jumping journal, talk with your coach, talk with other jumpers, do whatever it takes to try your hardest to pinpoint when the problem first started to appear.  Again, we are looking at recurring problems not something that you are just starting to learn right now.

 

The thing you need to realize is that when a problem creeps up is more than likely when something happened in your life.  This life moment can effect anything that you do, including how you feel.  It may now be effecting your jumping performance.  By narrowing down when the problem with your jumping first started you can use this information to help you with Step 3.

 

Write down when you first noticed the problem then move onto Step 3.

 

Step 3: What was going on in your life when the problem first appeared?

 

Look at all aspects of your life, from school, to home, to the hill.  Write down what was going on when the problem first appeared.  What you are looking for is any kind of stress, anxiety, guilt, criticism, etc.  During this time period you may have had a bad crash or saw someone else have a bad crash.  It could have been something that someone said to you or that you overheard.  It could be from pressure from things going on at home.  The number of things that can influence your jumping performance is absolutely mindboggling..

 

Stress and anxiety can cause so many problems in life.  You would truly be surprised by the sure nature of the power of stress.  In three days I will give a link to an article about a woman that had been suffering from hip pain, at times extreme pain.  It turns out her pain was caused by anxiety that she had 15 years ago when her husband got laid off from his job.  Like I said the mind can do amazing things to the body.  The mind can be negatively influenced one way when your young and then when you get yourself into a similiar situation later on in life you will find yourself caught up in self-sabotage.  It has did that with me ever since I used to swim competitvely as a kid.  Now when I get into competitive situations I choke.  It's totally irrational but the subconscious mind doesn't realize that.  My jumping has been hampered ever since I started jumping due to the competitive environment that abounds in ski jumping.

 

Guilt and criticism can have the same results as stress and anxiety.  The different ways in which your jumping can be influenced is almost impossible to count.  The key point is to try to figure out what it is that is causing the problem to occur.  This can, potentially, save a lot of time when we go to neutralize the issue that is causing you to have problems with your jumping.

 

You may not be able to come up with anything to write down in step 2 or 3.  It may not be easy to pin point when the problem started.  This will make it hard to tell what might have caused the problem.  This isn't a problem.  You can still use the rest of the method I'm teaching you,  More than likely it will take longer to sovle the problem since you will have to use the technique to dig through the mind to find out what is really the issue that is holding you back.

 

Tomorrow, you will check to see if this really is what is influencing your jumping problem.

 

Until next time

Keep the ski tips up,

Crash