INTRODUCTION

Let’s talk about our first key element in the twelve elements of peak performance: The Ability to Adjust

  • Greatness over time requires the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.  Mental and emotional rigidity impairs one from adjusting to new and different challenges.  

This brief discussion is taken from a chapter of Inside the Game: The 12 Elements of Peak Performance*, which is based upon my interview with Buck Rodgers, former baseball player and coach.  He highlighted this important element: the ability to adjust.

Buck Rodgers was born August 16, 1938 in Deleware, Ohio. His professional career in baseball included being a catcher, manager and coach.  As a manager, he directed three major league teams: the Milwauke Brewers (1980, 1980-82), Montreal Expos (1985-91) and California Angels (1991-92, 1992-1994), compiling a career won-lost record of 784-773 (.504).

I interviewed Mr. Rodgers at his home in Orange County.  We sat in his living room while his wife cooked in the kitchen.  Buck was an open hearted man with warmth and sensitivity. He was generous with his time and his story.

INTERVIEW

BUCK RODGERS:

The people who have great ability that don’t make it are usually the ones who do not have the ability to adjust. You have to adjust at every level. If it's not working this way, you got to say, well, let's try it this way. And pretty soon you find something that works. And if you're not afraid of change, you got some ability -- you don’t have to have the greatest ability, I certainly didn't -- you have a chance to stick around.

DR. MANN:

How do you think you learned about that ability to change?  Some people are kind of rigid?

BUCK RODGERS:

Well, I think it was all my bringing-up...family. I was in a small town; I did a lot of farm work. When something breaks down, you go get some bailing wire, you tie it up, and you adjust. You got to make it work for the day. You can't say, all right, all the work's done today because the tie on the wagon came off. It might rain that night and wash out the whole crop. You got to find some way to get it done. I'm thankful every day that I was brought up in a small town, because we had to make those decisions even as kids.

COMMENTARY

This idea of “adjustment” seems simple, but it is really a profound concept regarding life success. Perhaps the most current and tragic example of someone who is rigid and unable to adjust is President George W. Bush.  He continues to demonstrate a mental rigidity and “stay the course,” even when the “course” is not working.

Our inability to adjust to new and changing circumstances begins in our mind. When we believe that we have the “right” way to do something, we are determined to stay with our convictions. The wise individual will adjust his/her thinking when given new information or circumstances.

Other times, we are attached to our comfort zone. We don’t want to have to change because change requires some mental work to reorganize our thinking and perceptions. We have to become accustomed to a new way of doing something, or a new way of feeling.  Change sometimes requires us to develop a new sense of self.  It is easier to just keep the same old thought patterns, beliefs and ways of behaving. Unfortunately, mental rigidity often comes with the aging process. Individuals who are mentally flexible usually age better and are certainly happier.

The ability to adjust is tantamount to “living in the present.” Adjustment in peak performance requires an individual to make quick assessments and quick changes. You have to be awake, alert, mentally sharp and fully present to make quick changes.  If you are mentally asleep, afraid to lose, afraid to make mistakes, and/or insecure, then it will take you forever to adjust. You may be able to change, but by the time you are ready, it may be too late.

If you are a boxer, you don’t have a lot of time to think about changing. Your survival may count on a quick adjustment to a different approach from your opponent. If you are up at bat at the bottom of the ninth with men on base and a new pitcher comes in, you don’t have a lot of time to adjust.

The ability to live in the moment is perhaps one of the most important skills you can develop.  Living in the moment opens a doorway into an expanded universe. When each moment is fresh and you are able to respond to the reality at hand, then your choices are multiplied. When you have a fixed response style with a mentally rigid approach, you then become predictable, boring and outdated. Life is constantly evolving and if you cannot adjust to these changes, then you will be left behind. Think about it, what if you are a pitcher and always throw the same pitch when you are in trouble? How long do you think the opposition will take to figure that out?

Individuals have written complete books just on this topic, how to live in the moment. Learning to live in the present is a spiritual discipline all by itself. Living in the present demands that you get out of your ego mind, and the mind-state that is fixed in what “it believes to be true.”  If you are stuck in how something should be, you are not free to experience what something is. Raising children is a very difficult task, especially during adolescence, theirs not yours. Although, if you are still an adolescent, raising an adolescent, then you have double trouble!

Every generation is evolving and changing. If you hold the mental idea that your kids should behave like you did when you were young, it will be impossible for you to relate them! You will be relating to “who you think they should be.”

If you believe any of the literature on the evolution of consciousness and spiritual awareness, then living in the moment becomes even more important. The ego mind is what limits us and traps us into only perceiving the obvious physical/material reality; the more subtle realms of higher wisdom, intuitive knowing and refined energy are unavailable.  Consciousness is not rigid.  It is very fluid, spacious and open. It has a foundation in trust, surrender, faith and love. The ego mind is controlling, rigid and limited. It has its foundation in fear.

Look at any great golf professional.  He/she is trying to win a tournament and coming down the backstretch.  There is a par five with a dog-leg left over water to the green. A big hitter can make it in two with a great shot over the water.  The risk is great, bogie or more, and the reward is eagle.  The eagle may determine the win.  It takes a full and fluid swing to make those shots; fear will unravel even the greatest player.

However, wisdom can be an even greater ally than fearlessness.  Wisdom, based on self-knowledge is powerful.  Zach Johnson, the 2007 Master’s Champion, laid up on every par 5.  He made lots of birdies on those holes. He knew his limits, capitalized on his strengths and came out on top.  

The ability to adjust is huge. If you are playing on the tour every day, and one week you are on fast greens that have dried out because of winds, and the next week you are playing on slower greens with a lot of moisture, you have to adjust.  If you don’t, then all your putts will be short.

If you are in the business world and have a great company that prints books on a traditional printing press, what do you do when someone invents digital printing and the world no longer relies on traditional printing methods?  Do you adjust or go out of business?

If you are at bat in the bottom of the ninth with two men on base and your team is one run behind, what do you do when the relief pitcher comes in for the close?  Do you adjust to a new pitcher or just act like the previous pitcher is throwing strikes at you?

In summary, the ability to adjust requires mental alertness, flexibility, adaptability, and non-attachment.   Learn to adjust if you want your game and life to be at its best.

* Inside the Game is based upon interviews with world class athletes.  It discusses the twelve key elements for peak performance. These stories are amazing, exciting and profound. This book is in progress.

©2008 Copyright Ron Mann, Ph.D.  All Rights Reserved.