Once you’ve practised, prepared, grafted, ingrained and worked your arse off on the training field, how can you make sure that you are in the best possible place to perform?

Defeat hurts. But the pain goes far deeper if you don’t perform at your best. If you give it everything; the very best version of your being; the pinnacle of your performance; and someone else is better, so be it. It smarts, but you can handle that discomfort.

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But if you know that things could’ve been different, that you could’ve been better, that you could’ve done more, then we have real issues that linger a lot longer. How do you try to remove this possibility? How do you get into a position where you can access the best version of yourself?

The answer could lie in the world of road cycling:

Mark Cavendish articulates brilliantly the simple process of taking yourself to your best place. For him, the phrase ‘bibbidi-bobbidi-boo’ brings to mind a clip of his daughter, and that clip, in turn, reminds him of the reason why he’s here, slogging his guts out, on the unforgiving roads of the Tour de France. The clip also makes him smile and feel great inside.

Why do we need to feel great inside?

To perform at our best, we need to be free of tension. If you think of yourself at your best, there is no tension in you. Dancers, musicians, singers, comedians, speakers, sports people, teachers, business people, anyone, whatever you are doing, you cannot operate at your best if you are tense.

You have to be engaged, ready, focused and committed, but you cannot carry restrictive tension of any sort with you. That is why you see sprinters shaking themselves loose before they settle into their blocks. They need to be at their instinctive best to burst forward once the gun sounds. Tension will interfere with that freedom to respond.

I use this technique all the time when speaking in public and working in broadcasting. It wasn’t always the case, but with the help of Don Macpherson, I found that spending time putting myself into the right mindset, controlling my breathing and having a ‘happy thought’ helped everything.

When broadcasting, this process allowed me to start well, to not rush, it helped my brain to be a little calmer, and I was far more likely to be able to think clearly. Very useful when you have to respond to live sporting action when commentating!

When speaking, the added benefit is that a smile lifts the soft palate (in your head, between your nose and mouth) and creates a better vocal tone. A happy thought also tends to put a smile on your face.

When you are presenting to other people, smiling and giving them the message that you are content, tends to make them think that you are in control. A great place from which to command a room or conversation!

Why are you here?

This question is so integral to us achieving the very best we can. There is always something that spurs you on, a motivation that lies deep within you that allows you to push as hard as you can. Like many people, Mark Cavendish’s reason is his children. He needs to do them proud, to show them how good he can be, to work as hard as he can to provide them with the best possible life they can have.

Your ‘WHY?’ could be the same as Mark’s, it could be different. Of course, it can change throughout your life, as you grow and develop. The important thing is that you try and work out (every so often) exactly why you are here: what is motivation for being the best you can be?

Reminding yourself of the ‘WHY?’ is vital. Often just that thought will re-centre you, re-engage you with the task, and give us that little bump we need to push on through. It should also make you smile.

You can see from Cavendish’s reaction, his ‘WHY?’ is something that makes him smile from ear to ear. Again, this provides a levity that can promote exactly the right thought with which to operate at your best. This is why the team car says the phrase to him. To allow him to access that feeling.

Your best place

So, have a think where your ‘best place’ is. Make sure it has detail and colour, make sure it’s something that has strong memory roots, and make sure it makes you smile and feel warm inside. Capture it and take it with you to that moment just before you need to perform: take a good zen breath, take yourself to your happy place, smile, and then give it your all!

A reminder that this process does not replace any hard work or preparation that you need to do to be technically good. This is just the last layer on top.

Give yourself the best possible chance of success by putting yourself in the best possible place to perform at your best. Because as Mark Cavendish so aptly put it:

“Put ’em together and what have you got? Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!