Stay True to Your Compass

Optimal performance isn’t just about physical preparation; it’s about preparing to show up consistently as the performer you intend to be.

As athletes prepare for the ongoing SEA Games and January’s ASEAN Para Games, one of the key mental tools I help most of them develop is their own compass — a clear set of values and/or attributes that guides how they show up both in and outside of competition.

This compass, however, requires performers to foster a superpower in order fully utilize it: awareness. It is not enough to know what you stand for; you also need to notice the thoughts and behaviors that pull you off course. When athletes align their mindset, actions, and preparation with their compass, they maximize consistency and perform at their best under pressure.

From Drift to Direction…

An example comes from my work with an athlete whose confidence was constantly eroded by comparison. She was continually checking her teammates’ and competitors’ split times; her focus during a race was split between her own stroke and the swimmer in the next lane. She felt anxious, scattered, and never quite “enough.”

We began not by forcing change but by fostering awareness. Through reflective questions like ‘When you’re in that anxious, comparison spiral, what are you actually paying attention to?’ and ‘And what would you be paying attention to if you were perfectly dialed into your own race?’, she mapped out two contrasting versions of herself (see below):

The statement “Stay in my own lane” became her compass point. It wasn’t just a rule of the pool; it was a commitment to her own process. She learned to recognise the familiar tightness in her shoulders as a signal that she was distracted. That physical sensation became her cue to exhale slowly, feel her catch, and reconnect with the rhythm of her own race.

Staying True to Your Compass…

Here’s the important part: Her progress wasn’t a straight line, and it takes time for integration to take place. Even with time, the old habit of comparison would creep back in. The real work wasn’t in never drifting, it was in applying the compass with kindness. Beating herself up for a moment of distraction would only pull her further off course. Instead, she practised noticing the drift without judgment—”Ah, there it is”—and then gently using her cue to return. This self-compassion turned her compass from a stick to measure failure into a tool for genuine navigation.

Besides using the compass as a reflection tool, it can also be used to build your focus routines and as a decision filter.

If you have questions, thoughts, or want to explore how these ideas could apply to your sport or context, feel free to get in touch—I’d love to hear from you.

Coach Hansen

References:

Henriksen, K. (2019). The values compass: Helping athletes act in accordance with their values through functional analysis. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 10(4), 199–207.

Part 3: Unlocking the Superpowers…

As performers become more acquainted with the three principles—Control Your Controllables, Confidence Follows Competence, and Focus Leads Your Performance—the superpowers of Self-awareness, Gratitude, and Kindness naturally emerge.

For example, as performers consistently apply Control Your Controllables, they become more aware of their emotional triggers and habitual reactions during competition. A practitioner can then underline how Self-awareness enhances this principle by helping performers recognise when they are fixating on uncontrollable factors, such as an opponent’s performance or a referee’s call. By noticing these patterns, they can consciously redirect their focus toward what they can control—such as their breathing, focus routines, or tactical adjustments—allowing for more composed and effective performance. Self-awareness also helps them tap into their innate confidence by recognizing areas of growing competence (Confidence Follows Competence) and redirecting attention toward task-relevant cues (Focus Leads Performance) during high-pressure moments.

By now, you’ve seen how Self-awareness enhances the three principles by helping performers recognize and manage their internal responses. As I expand on Gratitude and Kindness, I encourage you to think about how these superpowers might also amplify the principles, and how they could transform a performer’s approach to challenges and growth.

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Medals do not tell the whole story.

As the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games draw to a close, all eyes are focused on the medal tally, and the media is abuzz with inspirational stories about how athletes have triumphed over adversity to win medals. These stories are perfectly fine, except that the focus here is on the fact that they have won medals, and any challenges along the way are justified only by the outcome. Specifically, we are evaluating an athlete’s progress and abilities based entirely on their achievement of a medal.

What about the athletes who faced and overcame challenges and gave their all during the games but did not end up with any medals? Are their efforts still justifiable?

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