3 tips for understanding the positive, percentage & paralysis approaches

Sports psychology provides many concepts that people can use in other areas of life. Here is one that provides food for thought. If you are a football manager, for example, you can play a match using the positive, percentage or paralysis approach. Sometimes you might pursue all three approaches in one game. Let’s explore these themes - plus how they might apply to other areas of life.

* The positive approach.

People often do their best work when they adopt this attitude. “Be positive, take the initiative and impose yourself on the game,” is the football manager’s advice. “Believe in yourself, win the ball and play the game in the opposition’s half of the field.” Sport - and life - is to be enjoyed. Being positive must be coupled with being professional, rather than being reckless. People who embrace this attitude are more likely to flow, focus and finish. Let’s consider the next theme.

* The percentage approach.

People may sometimes choose to adopt this style. “Sometimes we must play the percentage game - but do it with a positive attitude,” says the football manager. “Defenders must defend. Be professional, clear the ball but, whenever possible, pass to one of our players. Some teams base their whole playing style on a negative percentage game. They line-up defensively, kick long balls into the opposition half and pray for a lucky break. Certainly we may be forced to use this tactic when under enormous pressure. Adopting it as the main strategy is risky, however, because it is easy to fall into the paralysis game.”

* The paralysis approach.

People sit back. They wait for things to happen - rather than make things happen. Everybody has experienced this during their lives. After suffering a setback, for example, we must spend time in a sanctuary, before shaping our future and working to achieve success. Spending too long in a sanctuary causes the muscles to whither, however, and makes it difficult to start moving.

“Players who lose confidence often experience paralysis,” explained one sports psychologist. “They achieved success by being able to flow but, consumed by fear, they freeze. My role is to help them to play the positive game and, when appropriate, the percentage game. They are then more able to flow, focus and finish.”

How can you apply these lessons in your life and work? Looking to the future, try tackling the exercise on this theme. First, describe the specific situations where you can apply the positive approach. Second, describe where it may be appropriate to adopt the percentage approach. Finally, describe the situations where you must make sure you don’t fall into the paralysis approach. Try completing the following sentences.

The positive approach. The specific situations where I can use the positive approach are:

*

The percentage approach. The specific situations where it may be appropriate to use the percentage approach are:

*
The paralysis approach. The specific situations where I must make sure I do not fall into the paralysis approach are:

*