Scenario 1: You are at the start of the Olympic final, waiting for the whistle, the starting shot. Scenario 2: You are waiting with a cup of coffee to be picked up for your interview for your dream job, a nervously trembling knee betrays the tension of the moment. They seem like two completely different situations, but in reality the approach you need to win, to be successful, is very similar.
After studying Psychology at the University of Groningen, Nico W. Van Yperen received his Ph.D. in Nijmegen. Since 1994 he has been back at his Alma Mater where he delivered his oration (or inaugural address) in 2004 on the topic of "Flaming and Burning Down." As part of his 2017 appointment as Professor of Sport Psychology, the first in the Netherlands, he delivered an Academic Speech in 2018 on the Mental Aspects of Sport and Performance.
Van Yperen is a renowned researcher in the field of motivation, stress and performance in sports, but also in other performance domains such as work and education. He therefore knows better than anyone how to make the link between (top)sport and business. He published many scientific articles in international (top) journals and books, and held numerous lectures at (inter)national scientific conferences. At the University of Groningen he teaches, among others, the English-language course Sport and Performance Psychology. In late 2016, he launched his own SportScience blog in which he focuses specifically - as in his presentations - on making mental aspects of sport and performance accessible. He also deals with the mental coaching of (top) athletes. He knows many sports from the inside. He himself has always been very active as an athlete - on a modest level - competing in judo, soccer, water polo, volleyball, tennis, and in recent years golf (handicap 10).
Control the controlables
That we can learn something from top athletes is something everyone can imagine. But what is an important key point that top athletes do and we in the workplace do not? Top athletes are very focused on optimal mental functioning. And there is a lot to be said about that, according to Nico, which he will talk more about in the podcast. Still, the Nico thinks there is one basic principle that a lot can be traced back to, and that is "control the controlables": focusing on factors you can influence and things you have no control over, that you let that go and accept it.
"That may sound simple, yet it's more complex than you think. Just the fact of determining exactly what you have control over. Getting your clothes ready yes, that's simple, but influencing a referee during a match is different again. One flies at the referee with the intention of reversing his decision and the other says that makes no sense and turns away from it. That's complex."
The factors are individually dependent, one has certain expertise and thus more influence.
"Give me the courage to change what I can change. Give me the wisdom to accept what I cannot change. Give me the insight to see the difference between the two."
Wondering what else Nico has to say? Then listen to the podcast!
Links
More articles by Nico van Yperen(Sportscience.blog)
Find the book "focus confidence resilience, and other mental aspects of sports and performance" here
More about the Working Professor
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