Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I perform better when I feel better. I can decide to feel better thereby improve my performance.

Have you ever had the opportunity to (safely) crash someone else’s car? To spin the tires? To do a 180-degree spin? I had the good fortune to do that about 30 years ago. It was great fun (the story of the circumstances is too long for now).

I was in a class at the time of my car-crashing escapade. The car crashing occurred in the morning, and in the afternoon I was doing some skills tests. I did better on those tests than I ever did at all other times in my life. What’s more, everything I did the remainder of the day was easier than it was before.

Everything was easier than it was before. Wait a minute; how did that work? Was it possible to capture that moment and release it again when I wanted something to be easier? Had I discovered the secret formula to superior performance?

No, I didn’t. As much as I tried, I couldn’t recreate the feeling I had that day.

But, then again, yes, I did. I can feel “better” if I decide to do so. If I feel better, I work better, play  better, and do everything better. I can capture the feeling of crashing cars and use that do to just about anything.

Sometimes, however, I forget what I have learned. I forget to feel better and do things better. Alas, such is the human condition.