The Three P’s of Bowling Success – Part 3

After perceiving everything you need to perceive, and then processing the appropriate tactical, mental, and physical reactions, the final step is to simply perform. It’s a relatively simple concept, but it’s not easy to accomplish. I hope that by the end of this third installment in this series, you’ll have a better idea of how to perform with respect to the environment, your emotions, and your execution.

Before addressing the specifics of performing, let’s talk about the “performance self.”

Perform

There is some contradictory information out there about the “performance self.” I’ve heard and read different uses of the word “performance,” in both a negative and positive context. Some information out there refers to the “performance self” as being contradictory to the “true self,” and true success can only be achieved by being your true self in whatever your chosen discipline.

Other information has said the opposite: that athletes must adopt a sort of “performance self” to do what they wouldn’t do in real life, in order to be successful. An easy example would be a mixed martial arts fighter who performs and behaves in the octagon much differently than they do for the other 95% of their life.

I have my own concept of this which would be best left for another article, but to avoid any confusion, the words “performance” and “performance self” will be used in a positive way in this article, without trying to get into the details of the psychological component.

The environment

You might think that once you’ve made your decision about what adjustments to make—if any—that your work in the tactical side of things is done. ...