The secret to accessing a high-performance state of mind for elite athletes

I recently hosted a live event called “Superfail” in Bangkok, Thailand at the Hive Co-Working Space, where I invited successful and influential people to share stories of how they failed or screwed up along their journies to their success. One of my guests was Chanathip Sonkham, otherwise known as “Lek”. Lek is a well known Taekwondo Athlete based in Thailand. She is also part of the Thailand National Taekwondo Coaching Staff.

I was privileged to listen to Lek share about her experiences on becoming an Olympic Medalist, a World Champion, and a dominant force in the Taekwondo World. Lek shared a shot by shot replay of how she screwed up at the Olympics in the semi-final round with a 5 point lead with just 10 seconds on the clock against Spain. She made 1 miscalculation and got kicked in the face (3 points), which gave Spain the last second momentum to score 3 more additional points. Lek ended up losing by 1 point. Just 1 point. She had to rally within 1 hour to come back and fight in the repechage – and she came back and secured a Bronze Medal. She shared about the strength and clarity of mind it took to be still enough to be present in those moments between her matches. As she told her story, the audience relived every shot and every detail. It was real, intense and moving. After the Olympics, she went on a rampage of kicking ass across the world; 2013 World Champion, 2014 Asian Games Champion, 2015 SEA Games Champion, 2015 World University Champion, and 2015 World Grand Prix Silver Medalist. Lek also shared how her current impact is to help Thai Athletes secure the Gold at the Olympics – to finish the work that she could not finish herself. Her heart shines through her work and her presence.

What I saw fresh from Lek was that in that moment between the Semi-Final Round and the repechage round, she had the deep realization in that moment that the past was not something to be sad about, worry about, or analyze. Her WHOLE being shifted to focus on what she needed to do to win the rest of the day. As a professional coach, I believe that having this level of clarity and presentness is available to all of us. It comes from willing a willingness to slow down and put down our habitual thinking because when we do, we create space for fresh wisdom to come and inspire us forward.

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About Nikorn Gormley
Nikon Gormley is the CEO of Inner-Sparks Group and is a high-performance coach, public speaker, and taekwondo enthusiast. With over 10 years’ experience, Nikon has worked with the likes of CEOs, Thai Olympian and Miss Universe contestant to help them overcome personal and professional hurdles, as well as create help them create better results with less stress and less pressure.