What do you do to cope when you dont go as well as you hoped in a sports competition- which you've trained pretty hard for...and when you know, due to nerves, you didnt quite perform your best.
That has just happened to me.
I keep beating myself up over it- I know it's all supposed to be for fun and fitness, and you live and learn and it's not about winning, but still...i am dissapointed.
p.s. the sport i do is a type of dancing, with jazz/floor routines etc....and you compete in heats, with 2 judges watching about 10 girls on the floor at the same time, doing the same routine...all trying to do it the best!
hmm - well never been in your exact sit - but it sounds extremely hard and competitive - actually pretty interesting
i've trained for a 5k before and thought i was gonna do pretty well - but as i ran that race - i ran like crap and there wasn't a lot of slower runners - i was one of the last and i was extremely embarassed - there was a great party afterwards but i just wanted to go home and crawl into bed - did not feel like celebrating at all - but a few days later after talking to some friends - they were all impressed that i ran a 5k saying they could never even finish so i wore my finishing sweatshirt with pride to work that week and even to this day
i don't know if that helps but i think you should be proud of yourself for even competing - it's not something everyone can do - if it is something u have done for awhile - there will always be good competition days and bad ones - don't beat yourself up over it - learn from it and be proud u did it and work harder for the next
If you've had the same thing happen over and over, then you should question whether it's really in your heart to do what it takes to perform at the level you expect. If not, then you might re-evaluate your standards and/or whether it's worth it to continue if you won't be doing better in the future.
Or you could look at what went wrong as opportunities to improve.
I would definitely try to make sure you're at least as fair and forgiving with yourself as you would be if it were someone else.
Thanks to you both. It's now the end of the day and I am feeling much better about it. I spoke to some people who saw me perform and they said I did very well. It wasn't my best, I know that, owing to the nerves...but I also know that I have conquered those nerves in the past and done very well, and am now setting my sights on the comps still to come this season.
I have also reflected, as suggested, on what a good job I am doing in being out there competing at all. It is quite hard and a challenge and there is reward in that in itself.
And Johan, I am ALWAYS too hard on myself, and have been working on being a bit kinder to me. It's hard being a perfectionist!
Also, I think sometimes I do expect too much of myself, as I have always had to battle nerves when doing this sport.
It's not always about judges and what they think unless you care about money; it's about what you think of yourself and your talent/skills. And I mean you should ENJOY your skills. If you enjoy dancing, do it for yourself, who cares about competition? Even if you're not the best, so what? When you do something for yourself, you will have results... sounds cheesy but it's true. I became #1 when I started doing things for myself in audio production and didn't care about commercial results.
work on not getting nervous in situations . keep your focus. Just do what your taught and what youv'e practiced. If the person training you is not that good it will effect your performance as well.
Thanks everyone!
Well I tried to think positively...practice lots, and enjoy, keeping things in perspective and aiming simply to do my best, without trying to place too much focus on actual results.
I competed in the weekend in a much bigger comp. I placed second overall! I was thrilled! I performed so well, and did my best. I was nervous, but I kept the nerves in check and didnt let them ruin it for me.
Thanks again all. I am pleased to share this outcome!
The next comp is the BIG one...the end of year thing. Hopefully i can do the same thing, in terms of performance and mind set etc.
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