Keeping the Plank on the Ground
Welcome to Term 3. I hope the mid-year break provided Senior School students and families with an opportunity to rest, reconnect and prepare for the term ahead. Term 3 is always packed with opportunity and activity. I look forward to seeing the boys in action across the term.
In Muster this week, I spoke with the boys about what happens to our performance when the stakes seem to rise.
Walking along a plank placed on the ground is relatively easy. Raise that same plank three metres into the air, however, and the task immediately feels more difficult. At 30 or 300 metres, even the simple act of walking can become extraordinarily challenging. The skill has not changed, but the perceived consequences of making a mistake have. Fear and doubt begin to compete for our attention.
There is an important lesson in this for our students.
At times, we unnecessarily elevate the significance of the task in front of us. A mathematics test, a 2,000-metre ergometer trial, a Year 9 examination, a kick for goal or a solo musical performance can begin to feel as though the plank has been raised high above the ground. Concern about the outcome distracts us from executing the skills we have practised.
In these moments, it is helpful to keep the consequences in perspective and return our attention to what we can control: preparing well, following the process and completing the next step. We need to “keep the plank on the ground”.
There will also be occasions when the stakes are genuinely higher: a grand final, a UCAT test, a selection interview or a final Year 12 assessment. Accomplished performers are not immune to fear or doubt in these situations. Rather, they develop the capacity to act despite them. They separate the skill from the outcome, concentrate on the present moment and place one foot carefully in front of the other.
In 2015, Spencer Seabrooke set a free-solo slacklining record by walking 64 metres across a slackline between two cliffs, almost 290 metres above the ground. While few of us will encounter circumstances quite so extreme, the principle remains relevant: we perform most effectively when we focus on the next action rather than becoming overwhelmed by everything that might happen.
Across Term 3, our boys will encounter challenges in classrooms, on sporting fields, on stages and in their relationships. There will be moments when it is tempting to elevate a task unnecessarily or allow fear of the outcome to dominate their thinking.
As educators and parents, we can help by directing their attention back to the process. What preparation can you complete? What have you practised? What is within your control? What is the next step?
Keep the plank on the ground. Focus on the skill. Take one step at a time.
Barnaby Eaton
Deputy Headmaster / Head of Senior School
