A Forward-Facing® Approach to Optimal Performance
What you'll learn
- How and why “choking” and the “yips” happen – especially at the most inopportune times
- How to get to and remain in optimal performance (i.e., “flow”) on purpose
- Learn how to “psych yourself down” for optimization
- Develop skills for mitigating shame and getting back on your own team after “failure”
- How to have a little grace and laugh at ourselves.
Requirements
- No prior experience or specialized tools needed to take this course.
- Willingness to Reflect on Personal Experiences: Being open to exploring and reflecting on past moments of performance, especially those where you felt under pressure, experienced setbacks, or struggled with confidence.
- Openness to Learning New Strategies: A mindset that embraces growth and change, as the course will introduce new tools for overcoming performance barriers.
Description
When I was 11 years old, I tried out for junior league baseball. I did not make the team. It was devastating for me because I had played first string catcher and batted third in the lineup since I was eight. However, the tryouts were held the year after my parents had finalized an acrimonious divorce and I was bounced between my two parents multiple times during that year. During the tryouts, I was in the outfield and one of the coaches hit a high fly ball right to me. I was, at first, excited about catching it and redeeming myself for the poor playing I had demonstrated thus far during the tryouts. As soon as the ball was in the air, I instinctually perfectly positioned myself directly under where the ball was going to drop. However, during the three seconds the ball fell toward me I had a rapidly intensifying physiological threat response that had me double, triple, quadruple thinking my position and increasingly doubting my skills. I can still feel remnant waves of the shame I felt when the ball landed with a “plop” four inches next to my foot—can still hear the laughter of the other kids watching me fail.
How many of you can find similar experiences from your own past? Like taking an exam where you knew the material but could not recall the answers when you read the questions? Performing in front of an audience something you rehearsed many times previous and were competent when practicing but “choked” during the performance. Or getting the yips when you were competing in a sport, game or contest and finding your skills temporarily—but profoundly—diminished?
Are you interested in learning how to prevent these lapses in motor and cognitive functioning? Would you like to be able to intentionally dial-in optimal performance no matter the activity? How about being able to walk into high-demand situations and bring your confidence with you?
Well then join me as I discuss using the Forward-Facing process to help us all perform better with less effort and greater comfort.
Who this course is for:
- Athletes or performers who experience performance anxiety
- Professionals seeking to optimize their cognitive performance during high-pressure situations, such as presentations, interviews, or exams.
- Anyone interested in improving their ability to stay calm and confident under stress.
Instructor
- 4.7 Instructor Rating
- 693 Reviews
- 3,089 Students
- 9 Courses
J. Eric Gentry, Ph.D., LMHC, D.A.A.E.T.S. is the founder of the Forward-Facing® Institute. Dr. Gentry is a board-certified and internationally recognized leader in the study and treatment of traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. His doctorate is from Florida State University where he studied with Professor Charles Figley—a pioneer of these two fields. In 1997, he co-developed the Accelerated Recovery Program (ARP) for Compassion Fatigue—the world’s only evidence-based treatment protocol for compassion fatigue. Dr. Gentry was original faculty, curriculum designer and Associate Director of the Traumatology Institute at Florida State University. In 2001, he became the co-director and moved this institute to the University of South Florida where it became the International Traumatology Institute. In 2010, he began the International Association of Trauma Professionals. He has trained tens of thousands of professionals to more effectively treat traumatic stress. In 2005, Hogrefe and Huber published Trauma Practice: Tools for Stabilization and Recovery—a critically acclaimed text on the treatment of traumatic stress for which Dr. Gentry is a co-author. The third edition of this text was released in 2015. In 2016 He released his revolutionary Forward-Facing Trauma Therapy book. He is the author of numerous chapters, papers, and peer-reviewed journal articles in the areas of traumatic stress and compassion fatigue. Dr. Gentry is a licensed psychotherapist with over 33 years of clinical practice. He is the CEO and owner of Compassion Unlimited-- a private psychotherapy, training, and consulting practice.
What is Forward-Facing®? Forward-Facing® is a unique process for resolving our painful past while living a principle-based life here in the present. It is the marriage of science-based self-regulatory skills paired with resilient intentional living. Engaging these skills lowers stress symptoms while simultaneously enhancing quality of life and well-being. The skills are deceptively simple and easy to implement. Anyone can learn them in a short period of time…and then work the rest of our lives to master them. While Forward-Facing® is a bona fide protocol for addressing and resolving traumatic stress, it is equally effective for developing stress-management, resilience and optimization skill for professionals, parents, couples, athletes and performers.