Once upon a time
in a place called Rhinoland,
all the rhinos ran around in running shoes.
Unlike rhinos in other places
who spent most of their time browsing for food,
these rhinos loved to run.
And, except for races, most rhinos ran alone.
But there was a small group of rhinos
who got together several times a week to run.
It was this group that attracted the attention
of the recent Rhino Olympics gold medal winners.
Zoom was the fastest male rhino
and Flash was the fastest female rhino
in all of Rhinoland.
Standing on the podium receiving their medals
and the applause of all the other rhinos,
Zoom and Flash knew that all their hard work
and sacrifice had been worth it.
They felt special because they were the best.
Not long after the Olympics,
Zoom and Flash bumped into each other again.
When Zoom saw Flash, he said to her,
“Isn’t it great winning a gold medal?”
Flash answered slowly,
“I guess so … but why don’t I still feel special
like I did when they hung the medal around our necks?”
“Are you feeling lonely, too?” frowned Zoom.
“I thought everything would be different after the Olympics.”
“So did I,” said Flash sadly.
“Hey, let’s start running some together
and see if we can figure this thing out,” suggested Zoom.
“Great, I’ll see you here tomorrow at the same time,” said Flash with a smile.
The next day, Flash waited patiently for Zoom,
but he was 15 minutes late.
She probably would have been a little upset,
but she had noticed a group of rhinos
that had gathered together to run.
They laughed and had fun while
they were running, unlike
most rhinos who were really serious
and rarely smiled while they ran.
“What an odd group of rhinos,” she thought.
Finally, Zoom showed up.
“Sorry .. something came up,” he said.
“Oh, that’s okay,” mumbled Flash under her breath.
So off they went on their run.
But every time Flash would run up beside Zoom,
He would pick up the pace.
When they finished, Flash asked Zoom,
“Any ideas about why we’re feeling
unhappy?”
“Not really, how about you?” answered Zoom.
Flash frowned, “Me neither.”
“Want to run again tomorrow?” asled Zoom.
“Sure .. I guess,” answered Flash.
The next day, Zoom was on time,
but Flash was a little late.
However, the running group rhinos all showed up at the same time.
As Zoom watched them talk and laugh
before their run,
he felt a little jealous.
“Why should I be jealous?”
he thought.
“I can run faster than all of them.”
Finally, Flash came walking up.
“You’re late,” snapped Zoom.
“Sorry,” answered Flash sarcastically,
“Something came up.”
So they took off running.
By chance they ended up on the same trail
as the running group.
“Oh, no,” groaned Zoom,
“There goes our workout.”
Just then a bushy eye-browed old rhino yelled,
“Circle with partners!”
The faster running group rhinos quickly paired up
and danced happily in circles until
the slower runners caught up.
Then the bushy one yelled,
“First group take off to the top of the hill.
Second and third groups
follow in one minute intervals.”
And up the trail went the old rhino with the slower runners.
Flash and Zoom looked at each other
and wondered what was going on?
They followed the slower first group,
but soon heard heavy breathing
as the next two groups tried to catch
the first group before the top of the hill.
Near the top,
the groups began to merge
as the faster rhinos caught most of the slower ones.
But the first one to the top was
an older rhino who had just gotten over
and injury.
As she crested the hill in the lead,
she smiled cheerfully and was soon
joined by others, laughing and
coughing from the hard effort.
They celebrated her recovery and their own efforts.
Zoom and Flash again looked at each other.
“These are strange rhinos.
They don’t have to win to be happy,” observed Zoom.
“No wonder they are not champions,” sneered Flash
as the two took off on the rest of their run.
“Same time tomorrow?” asked Flash when they finished.
“Okay … but let’s both try to be on time,” said Zoom.
“And let’s run together so we can talk.
I’m not here to race with you,” Flash added firmly.
“It’s a deal,” replied Zoom warmly, as he looked into her eyes.
From then on, Flash and Zoom met on time,
as they had promised each other.
And each time they saw the running group,
they noticed how happy this strange bunch
of rhinos were.
On the trails,
the running group seemed to be playing
rather than working out.
Then one day,
a couple with a very young calf
showed up at the running group.
All the other rhinos gathered around the new baby
and celebrated with the proud parents.
Again, unusual behavior for typically solitary rhinos.
During the following weeks,
the two champions continued to meet on time
for their daily runs and
to observe the “strange group of running rhinos.”
They observed the group comforting
one of their members who was crying about something.
The sad rhino obviously felt better
and was even able to run with the others.
Strangest of all,
these rhinos always hugged each other
when they met and departed the group.
“Real rhinos don’t hug!” declared Zoom.
“Why not?” asked Flash.
“Because we just don’t,” answered Zoom.
One day when they met to run,
Zoom said to Flash, “Guess what?
We’ve been meeting to run for 2 months now.”
Flash smiled and said, “I know. And we’ve
both been on time everyday.”
“We’re starting to act just like them,”
snorted Zoom,
pointing his horn toward the running group.
“Is that why I’m feeling better?” asked Flash.
“I’m feeling better, too,” said Zoom thoughtfully.
“Maybe we should talk to Old Bushy about
joining the Running Group,” said Flash
as she smiled at Zoom and they hugged.
And so they walked down to meet Old Bushy.
He looked to be twice their ages
and had obviously been in many battles.
But as he looked up and smiled at them,
they immediately felt at ease.
“Well, if it isn’t the two most famous runners in Rhinoland.
What brings you here?” he asked gently.
“Ah … we … well …” stammered Zoom.
“Let me try,” said Flash.
“After winning our gold medals,
we soon felt just as lonely as we did before winning them.
We want to be happy like your runners.
What’s their secret?” she went on.
Old Bushy responded thoughtfully,
“You say you are unhappy …
but you both had beautiful smiles
and open hearts when you walked up here.”
“That’s because we were feeling good
about keeping our promises about meeting on time to run
together for the last several weeks,”
blushed Flash.
“Oh, really,” said the old rhino slowly, and then added,
“We would love to have you run with us.”
“Great!” exclaimed to two elite rhino runners.
“How much does it cost?” inquired Zoom.
“Nothing … The only requirement is
to come with open minds and hearts,” answered Old bushy.
“And you must share with us what you learn,” he added.
The two looked at each other and
shook their heads in agreement – even though they
were not entirely sure what Old Bushy meant.
“By the way … you have already experienced the first part of our secret
to happiness,” observed Old Bushy. “Before tomorrow’s run,
come tell me what you have learned about
keeping your word and feeling good about yourself.”
The next day, they met Old Bushy before the run.
“We think that part of feeling good
about yourself … is learning to keep your promises,”
said Zoom.
“Especially when it’s inconvenient or hard to do,”
added Flash.
Old Bushy smiled, “You two are not only fast
on your feet, but good thinkers, too. Let’s go
join the others and see what else
we can learn.
Just minutes before the meeting time,
all the other runners showed up.
And what a group they were.
There were young and old, males and females,
fast and slow, shy and out-going, thin and stocky
– but they all loved to run and get together.
“Listen up,” announced Bushy, sounding like
an old Marine. “We have
guest runners today.”
The other runners spotted Flash and Zoom
and ran over to meet them.
Of course they all recognized the Olympic champions.
After a few minutes, Old Bushy ordered,
“Let’s go. John, take it out easy to the deer trail.”
And off the group went with Zoom and Flash
jogging slowly in the middle of the group.
The rhinos laughed and joked and shared with each other
what was happening in their lives.
“Very strange behavior for rhinos,”
thought both Zoom and Flash.
At the first trailhead, Old Bushy called out to the group,
“First group will take off for the waterfall …
second and third groups will follow in two minute intervals …
Flash, you wait two minutes after the third group …
and Zoom, you take off a minute after Flash …
First one there gets thrown in! …
Let’s go.”
The first group and Old Bushy took off
in a cloud of dust.
The next two groups took off on schedule.
Flash and Zoom looked at each other
and took off at the proper intervals.
“What kind of a workout is this?”
the two elite rhinos wondered.
Soon they started to catch
the end of the group in front of them.
As they approached from behind,
the slower runners immediately stepped aside
and yelled, “Go get’em,” “Go for it,” or
other words of encouragement.
Spurred on by the support of the rhinos
they were passing,
the elite runners soon caught most of the others.
With a short distance to go, only a
really old skinny male and a young sleek
female rhino, running neck and neck,
were in front of them.
“Here they come,” yelled old John.
“Let’s make them work for it, “
puffed Margaret.
Flash and Zoom spotted the waterfalls
and began an all out sprint.
Just before Zoom and Flash passed them,
the two slower runners suddenly stopped at a big rock
and raised their arms in triumph.
The elite runners looked at each other quizzically
and then smiled, just as they ran off the cliff
overlooking the falls,
landing safely in the middle of the pool.
Soon the other rhinos joined them in the water.
“Margaret and John were the winners,”
declared Old Bushy.
“But we passed them,” protested Zoom.
“Lesson number two – always know where the finish line is,”
chuckled Old Bushy.
And everyone laughed and decided to play in the water
instead of run anymore that day.
Later, Zoom and Flash sat talking with Old Bushy.
“So why do you run?” asked the old rhino.
“To win medals and be the best!” snorted Zoom.
“And why do you want to win medals
and be the best?” Old Bushy continued.
“So that people will respect us
and know that we are special,” blurted out Flash.
“So,” Old Bushy said quietly,
“Since you’ve already won medals,
then you must feel special already.”
“Not really,” said Zoom, sounding confused.
“At first it was really neat, but afterwards we
began to feel alone again,”
added Flash.
“Except when we were in the pool with everyone-
that was really fun,” smiled Zoom.
“You know, you’re right … That really was fun,”
agreed Flash.
Bushy smiled and said, “We’ll talk more tomorrow.
In the meantime, think about what you learned today.”
The next day, Zoom and Flash met Old Bushy.
“We think we know yesterday’s lesson,” said Flash.
“Having a bunch of medals doesn’t mean much
if you have no one to share them with,”
said Zoom thoughtfully.
“And one of the reasons The Running Group is happy
is because they share their lives with each other,”
added Flash.
“So, are you saying that being willing to open your minds
and hearts to each other makes you feel
more special than winning medals?” asked the old rhino.
The two young rhinos looked deep into each other’s
Eye’s and answered, “Yes.”
“The Running Group is not about running –
it is about living, sharing, and loving,”
observed Flash as Zoom nodded in agreement.
“And we were able to learn from them once we
opened our minds to what they had to teach us,”
added Zoom.
Old Bushy smiled and said, “Time to run.”
And Zoom and Flash went on to get married,
to win three more gold medals each,
and to establish running camps for underprivileged rhinos
where they taught the secrets of happiness:
“Be true to your word …
and run through life with
open minds, open hearts, and open arms.”
CONTINUING THEMES
Attention control/emotion management
- The internal critic intervention = disappointing performance
- Critic management = effective performance
- Role of situational assessment: test/threat versus challenge/opportunity
- Identifying “ego virus” programs
- Programming effective focusing strategies
- Separating self from task
- Automatic pilot and performance planning for all contingencies
- A performance reflects what you do, not who you are
- To perform better requires you enhance you physical and/or mental skills to perform in public and on demand.
SCENARIO:
Athlete/student learning to apply lessons learned in competition to classroom performance. Roles of parents/coaches in programming youthful “critics.” Focus on pre-competition/test anxieties. Black box recordings. Disappointment not as a human failure, but as an opportunity to learn and grow. Growth requires stress and should be pursued.
Set goals
Develop preparation strategies
Practice and refine strategies as indicated by progress measures
Arrive ready to compete without inhibition
Focus on what you are doing, not how and “Judge no run until it’s done.”
Analyze what can be learned and applied from both successes and disappointments.
Mom with young skater who cries when she doesn’t win or master moves quickly. Real life situation. Moms and daughters as rivals instead of comrades.
Parent of young runner, who runs well in practice, but “chokes” in big races (and studies hard, but “blows” big tests, seeks old Bushy’s advice.
Parent of recalcitrant teenage rhino comes to old Bushy because he doesn’t understand why the youngster acts that way when parent keeps telling the youngster what to do.
RHINO “REDO’S”
One day the parents of a young Rhino runner
approached old Bushy with a problem.
“Little Mikey used to love to run races,
but now we have to push him out
the door to train with the team …
After the last race this spring, he said he wants to quit …
What’s wrong with him?”
asked the concerned father.
“We keep telling him what he should do,
but he just won’t do it … We
don’t understand him? … Can you help us?”
pleaded the mother.
“So, let me get this straight.
You say your youngster used to love to run,
but now seems to hate it. Is that right?” queried
the old Rhino, and the parents nodded in agreement.
“And that both of you have been telling him
what he should be doing, but he isn’t responding …
and that you don’t understand him,” he continued.
Again they nodded in agreement.
“And what does Mikey say about all this,” asked old Bushy.
“That it’s no fun anymore,” they responded,
sounding like teenagers themselves.
“So, what do you want from me?” asked Bushy.
“To fix him, so he can win races again …
and we can all be happy and proud of him …
and not worried
all the time,” said the father..
Old Bushy raised an eyebrow as he listened to their response.
Then he said, “Mind if I ask Mikey to join our running group this summer?”
“Of course it you think it might help,” said the relied mother.
They called Mikey over to talk to Bushy.
He eyed the battle scarred old Rhino suspiciously,
wondering what he wanted.
“Mike, we have a group that runs together
on the trails and were wondering if you
might like to come play with us this
summer?” asked Bushy,
as he looked Mikey in the eye.
“We’d love to have you join us.”
“Who’s us?” asked Mikey.
“Well, we’re young and old, fast and slow …
just Rhinos who love to run and enjoy being
together,” answered Bushy.
“Okay … I guess … nothing else to do this summer …
trails might be fun … I never ran on mountain trails before,”
said Mikey, thoughtfully.
So Mikey began to show up at running group.
He noticed a couple of other young
Rhinos and decided to hang around with them
during the runs.
Soon he learned how the group operated.
Everyone showed up on time.
The early part of the run was about catching up on the
news and gossip. And the last part of the
run was to work on particular skills –
up/hill down hill running, breathing,
and stride length and frequency.
It was during the end of these runs
that Mike always took off and ran faster
than anyone else.
He took pride in beating the others in training.
After a month, old Bushy announced
that the next run would be the monthly 10K time trial.
Then he added, “Our old friends Flash and Zoom
will be here, so come ready to show them
what you have learned since they moved away.”
Like everyone else, Mikey knew that
Flash and Zoom were Olympic champions.
“If I push really hard, I bet I can beat them,”
Mikey muttered to himself.
“I’ll teach them something.”
All week long, he daydreamed of
“Putting down the champions.”
He envisioned the headlines in the Rhino Daily News,
“Unknown Whips Champs.”
Finally the day came and Mike
arrived at the starting line
feeling a little stiff and groggy
after a sleepless night worrying
about the race.
The champions arrived
and everyone swarmed to meet them.
Flash and Zoom called them by name
and asked how each were doing.
When introduced, Mikey just nodded
his head and stared at Zoom who returned
the gaze with a slight smile.
“Okay,” shouted Old Bushy. “Here is the
starting order – slower runners will start first
with fastest starting last … First one back to the
finish line wins … and gets to call off the
times for everyone else.
In a cloud of dust, the first group
of Rhinos thundered away.
Mikey was surprised
that several of the young runners,
he had been beating in training,
started after him.
“I show them and Bushy where I belong,”
He thought to himself.
Mikey blasted off the start,
but just before he began to catch
several of the slower runners, he found
himself starting up a long hill.
“Push it, push it … harder, harder,”
he cajoled himself.
But much to his surprise, the slower runners
started pulling away from him.
Mikey tried to run harder by increasing his stride.
It was harder, but he made up no ground on
those in front of him.
Worse yet, the other younger
Rhinos were now passing him as well.
“What’s wrong with me?” he began to
whine to himself.
Then he started downhill,
And with feet, legs, and horns flying
every which way, he blew by
the more controlled, fluid runners.
But as hard as he was running,
he began to lose ground again as the
runners started the last half of the race.
The trail got more narrow, and twisted
up, down, and around through the brush and rocks,
Flash and Zoom flew by him.
Zoomed slowed momentarily, and looked
at the struggling, gasping young Rhino.
“Stay focused … run smoothly … Breathe,”
advised the champion, calmly.
Disgusted, Mikey gritted his teeth
and clenched his fists, determined
to at least catch the other young runners.
Climbing the last gradual uphill
mile to the finish line, Mikey
realized that not only
was he not going to catch the other younger Rhinos,
but even some of the older Rhinos were going to have
better times than he.
“That’s it … I hate this …What’s wrong with me
… I’m never doing this again,” he said to
himself as he crossed the finish line.
While Mikey was kicking the dirt and
wallowing in his unhappiness,
Zoom caught his eye and motioned
toward the far end of the
picnic area.
Mikey drudged over to Zoom,
who asked, “So how was your race?”
“It totally sucked … I beat those other
guys all the time in training … They
blew me away on the hills and technical sections …
I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” blurted Mikey,
surprised at his candor.
“Ahhh ….” smiled Zoom,
“ Been there, done that …many times, myself …
Want to talk about it?”
“Okay,” nodded the tired Rhino.
The two athletes found a quiet
spot under a tree and
sipped on cans of Rhinoaide.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me …
I really wanted to win today …
That’s all I thought about all last week …
I ran as hard as I can … I’m just a loser, I guess,”
groused Mikey.
“So are you telling me that the
way to win races is to run harder
than everyone else?” asked Zoom.
“Of course, everyone knows that,” replied the young Rhino.
“Says who?” asked Zoom.
“My father and mother,” replied Mikey.
“Oh, I didn’t know they were runners,” said Zoom.
They’re not … but everybody knows it …
sports writers say it all the time,” said
Mikey, a little meekly.
“Well, you’ve been running
with old Bushy’s group for the last month,
what does he say about winning?”
asked Zoom, as he noticed Flash walking over to join them.
“Hi, guys … how were your races?” she asked cheerfully.
“I didn’t run hard enough to win,” offered Mikey, nervously.
Flashed glanced knowingly at Zoom,
and said, “Sounds like a young Zoom to me.
I’ll let you guys talk it out.”
And she joined the rest of the celebrating Rhinos.
“A young Zoom … What does that mean?
Asked Mikey.
“I’ll answer that question after you tell me
what you learned about winning this last month?”
said Zoom.
Mikey considered the question for quite a while
as Zoom waited patiently.
“We never talked about winning ….
All old Bushy talks about are running skills …
I already can run harder than all of them … so I
just do my own thing in training.
“So in training, you’re faster than they are,
but today they all beat you by running ‘harder’
than you did? Asked the champion, calmly.
“Well no … er, yes … or I don’t know,”
mumbled Mikey.
“They weren’t breathing as hard …
seemed to climb the hills with less effort …
and really flew over the last part where I was struggling,”
observed Mikey, thoughtfully.
“So while you were focused so much on winning,
they were focused on …..? asked Zoom.
For a long time Mikey didn’t answer
as he worked through the question.
Finally, Mikey smiled and his eyes lit up.
“While I was trying to run harder and harder …
they were focusing on running more and more skillfully …
they were focusing on the skills they had been practicing all month …
while I was just running the same old way I always have – hard.”
About this time old Bushy
ambled over to the two younger Rhinos.
“Am I interrupting anything,” asked Bushy.
“Mikey here was just telling me what he learned
about racing today,” said Zoom.
“And what was that, Mikey,” asked the old coach.
“That winning is about racing each mile
as skillfully as you can … and,
when you focus on those skills and give it your all …
you are a winner, regardless of where you place,”
Mikey thought out loud.
“Sounds like a recording from several years ago, Zoom,” he smiled, and walked away.
PARENTS/COACHES/TEACHERS PROGRAMMING
RHINOS IN ICE SKATES
One day, old Bushy and Jowman
were waiting for Prissy Girl
to show up for morning running group.
Jowman was a studly, lean Rhino,
who used running to keep in shape
for cross-country skiing and cycling.
Prissy girl was one of the best
mountain trail runners around.
The three Rhinos have been running together
for several years.
Soon Prissy Girl came trotting up the trail
with another female rhino jogging shyly
beside her.
As the Rhinos greeted each other
with hugs, Prissy Girl said,
“Hey, guys, I invited
Shoe-Yann to join morning running group.”
The two males smiled and responded in unison,
“Cool!”
And so Shoe-Yann became a regular
morning grouper.
As Shoe-Yann began to learn the skills
of trail running, she became more confident
and enjoyed the company of the other runners.
During their runs, old Bushy was
always giving tips on running technique
and mental skills,
both of which Shoe-Yann learned quickly.
One day, during a break while Jowman and
Prissy Girl were dancing in circles,
Shoe-Yann asked old Bushy,
“Will these mental skills
also work in other sports?”
Hearing the question, the other
two Rhinos stopped dancing
and waited to hear the Old Rhino’s answer.
Scratching the thin batch of hair on his head,
Old Bushy said,
“What do you mean?”
“Well, by little girl is a really
good ice skater, but when she misses
a trick or has trouble learning a new one
she gets frustrated and cries,”
answered Shoe-Yann.
“And when this happens,
what do you or the coach do?”
asked Bushy.
“We tell her to keep working at it
until she gets it right,” answered
Shoe-Yann.
“So after a couple more tries,
if she doesn’t get it right – then what happens?”
asked Bushy.
“Well she usually mopes around
and stays very quiet,” answered
the young mother.
The old Rhino looked at the
other two concerned Rhinos
and asked,
“You both are telemark skiers.
That is a difficult sport to learn.
What do you do when you are having
a bad day on the slopes?”
Jowman thought for a moment
And then said,
“I look for an easier slope
and practice making turns where I feel
better.” Prissy Girl smiled in agreement.
Show-Yann pondered
the answer for a minute or two, and then
with a broad smile said,
“When Angel’s having a
bad day or not getting a new trick,
she could go back to tricks she does
well and feel good about herself again!”
She does skate better when she smiles!”
“Sure sounds better than practicing
making mistakes,” commented
Old Bushy gently as he herded
the others down the trail.
