The physical training athletes constantly work at can only get them so far when the big moment comes. The body can always be trained and improved, and when the competitive sh*t is hitting the fan, an athlete’s body will have been so intensively trained that the muscles will tend to react according to the memories the muscles have stored up based on that training.
All of which should mean that if an athlete can see what’s happening during a competition and can let their minds go enough to allow their muscle-memoried bodies to do what they’ve been trained to do, everything should be golden. Too bad athletes are using their bodies so extensively that their amped-up minds have time to think and think until mentally the athlete is curled up in a corner, twitching and terrified, certain of failure at the critical moment.
In the old days, the coach gave the athlete a pep talk, a good whack on the back, and told the athlete to suck it up and take it like a man. These days, there are sports psychologists. When an athlete is physically flawless, but tends to mentally crumple when confronted with the pivotal moment of doom, a sports psychologist becomes part of his/her training team.
An article in the CS Monitor explains the ins and outs:
German biathlete Magdalena Neuner came into the Vancouver Olympics with six world championship titles in her pocket – but a history of wildly inconsistent shooting that has also left her with some poor results.
So when the young stand-out won her first of three medals so far at these Olympics – including two of Germany’s six gold medals – she had a simple answer for how she had become so much more consistent this year.
“I worked very hard, especially in the mental training,” she said, a concept she elaborated on later. “One has to understand that physical fitness alone isn’t sufficient. My mental training is very complex and it makes me believe in myself…. To control your mind is more difficult than to control your body.”
If you’re in the neighborhood on March 4, 2010, and you’re pondering a Master’s in Sustainability Management, the Earth Institute, Columbia University has an invitation for you:
The Earth Institute, Columbia University invites you to join us for an information session on Thursday, March 4th at 6:30 p.m. to learn more about the brand new M.S. in Sustainability Management co-sponsored by Columbia University’s School of Continuing Education and the Earth Institute.
All organizations, whether they are multinational corporations or local nonprofits, face a growing number of environmental challenges from limiting carbon emissions to managing water resources. The M.S. in Sustainability Management is a highly specialized professional program that will formally train and educate sustainability practitioners for a broad range of fields. The program is designed to meet the growing demand for sustainability managers and will train leaders to bridge the gap between the principle of sustainable development and its practice. Students in the program will learn sophisticated environmental measurement tools and cutting-edge environmental science to fully understand the systematic and organizational role of sustainability in any organization. This program is ideal for practitioners and aspiring professionals working in organizational management, regulatory compliance, facilities operations, and environmental stewardship.
The program is offered on a full-time or part-time basis to accommodate the schedules of working professionals.
Date: Thursday, March 4th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Low Memorial Library, Faculty Room
To register for the information session, please go to:
The world order has finally reconciled itself! Barbie no longer thinks “Math class is tough!” Now she’s lighting up cubicle jockeys with her smokin’ bod and her tight pants! She will be fetching lattes for no one.
I actually like Barbie, to be honest. I know she’s supposed to be evil and make little girls feel badly about themselves, but I had about 20 Barbies when I was an impressionable young thing and I’ve never had body issues. Besides, how can you not respect a girl who can maintain that posture and walk around 24/7 on her tip-toes with a rack like that? Barbie’s a badass, I don’t care what the angry hippies say.
The crazy surge in med school applicants has finally triggered several new medical schools to come into being. Apparently there was a dry spell during the 80s and the 90s. Now is the time for every new and terrified college grad to take a good look around, figure out which professionals manage to avoid being laid off (garbage collectors and doctors), and decide whether to get a job now (not the best plan, I heard even 7-Eleven isn’t hiring) or kill some time in medical school while the economy works itself out.
It seems there is an actual shortage of physicians in this country, as well as a shortage of medical school spots. Starting up a few more medical schools seems like a viable option. But let’s not go overboard. Printing more money doesn’t save anyone from an economic crisis (have we learned nothing from all this higher education?).
I’m all for more doctors, especially if it means more people to help who are worth a lot less money (we can’t pay all the doctors six figures…I hope). But my spidey senses are tingling about the less-than established medical schools letting everyone in and churning out Twinkie-shaped doctors. Oh, well. I’m sure America’s lawsuit fettish will finally pay off and the physicians educated at MD mills will soon be weeded out.
Wait! Here comes the optimism (better late than never). The new medical schools will be less fraught with tradition, status, and red tape and they will work hard to teach their med students well. These new and excellent doctors will go on to stellar residencies and splendiferous careers in medicine. Babies will smile and Baby Boomers will be cured of their age-related ills. The soundtrack will rock and the montage will be poetic.
For a tragedy-less college student, there is nothing worse than utterly failing an exam. Having to hear some know-it-all’s advice on how not to do that again sucks as well. One always hopes to learn deep lessons from one’s mistakes. Oddly, the more mature a brain is, the quicker it learns not to ever do that again.
Which is all to say I know from experience (read: I’m a pain-in-the-ass, know-it-all b**ch) that undergrads have to see their exam-failing lives pass before their eyes a few times before they figure out how to never have a day like that again.
WorldWideLearn’s blog has an advice-filled post up about how not to torpedo yourself with one badly executed exam moment. Taking advice, learning one’s Social Security Number, and mastering the art of acquiring free beer, food, and furniture are some of the key bits of priceless information college students are expected to take away from their higher educations.
Prospective college students who have remained unaware of the fact that January 23rd’s SAT results are up at CollegeBoard.org are waaaaaay too relaxed. Or possibly relaxed just enough…
Any monkey with a camera and a laptop can shoot and edit their own video. Which means college students should have no problem accomplishing this goal. There’s money in it for the top three video entries, and who needs cash more than a monkey? College students. Which begs the question: What the hell are you waiting for?!
Herman Miller, the designers/builders of the best desk chair ever are holding a video contest with the goal of better understanding college students and where they have their best studying moments. This view into the study life of the American college student “will help promote discussion among higher education professionals about the rapidly changing needs of students and how higher education facilities can respond to those needs.”
I hope this means that non-studying adults won’t be blindly revamping the study facilities without some input from the humans who actually clock hours in those rooms, desks, and chairs.
Who is eligible: Current, full-time students of 2- or 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S.
Cash possibilities: The top three video documentarians will receive a $2,500, $1,500 or $1,000 Visa gift card.
Go here to read all rules, regulations, information, and submission guidelines.
Obama is upgrading the higher education system in this country (we hope), starting with an increase in Pell Grant award amounts. What does that mean for Pell Grant applicants? Who qualifies and for how much? Basically, the results of the FAFSA number-crunching are what determine a student’s eligibility.
…there is no “one size fits all” recipient.
Keep in mind, the Pell Grant is awarded to undergraduates with a high degree of unmet financial need; most Pell money goes to students with a total family income around or below $20,000. But, students whose families have a total income of up to $50,000 may be eligible too. In 2005-2006, students with family incomes of less than $20,000 accounted for 57% of Pell Grant recipients.
…Pell Grant qualifications can be affected by a student’s enrollment status as well as income earned through employment, too. Think about it – if you are enrolled half-time, your tuition is less and therefore you will require less aid. Undergraduates who work while they are enrolled are more likely to have incomes that decrease their eligibility for federal need-based aid (ahh, didn’t think of that, did you?). Some low-income students may even find themselves ineligible for Pell Grants because they are enrolled part time at very low cost colleges, or they work while they are enrolled, or do both. More…
