What Tom Brady Super Bowl LI Taught Us About Peak Performance:
[dt_divider style=”thin” /]
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady and coached by Bill Belichick, came back to win after trailing the Atlanta Falcons as many as twenty-five points it seemed almost as if scripted for a film. Well…in a way it was. Not to say the outcome of the game was predetermined but the circumstances leading up to the game and developing game conditions certainly wrote a story like no other. It was a perfect storm that led to one of the most painful collapses in sports history.
At one point the Falcons win probability was 98.9% leaving the Patriots a measly 1% chance of winning.
Falcons win probability after Patriots TD- 98.9% pic.twitter.com/l8RKJbFRAj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 6, 2017
So how did they do it?
What if you could pull off a performance of this level “at will”…with clear and direct intent?
Whether you love em’ or hate em’ there’s definitely something to be learned here. Let’s take a look at the events that led up to the climactic ending of this story and see if there are any clues and conclusions that can be used to formulate a means or method to comeback from seemingly insurmountable odds in any aspect of life.
TIMELINE:
The 2014 Deflategate controversy leads to:
• Brady’s suspension for the first four games of the 2016 season.
• The Patriots were stripped of a 2016 first-round pick and fined $1 million.
Superbowl 51 key events:
• With a fumble in Atlanta territory and an interception return for a TD in Atlanta territory as well, the Patriots are held to only a field goal in the first half.
• The Falcons went up 28-3 with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
• After predicting the Patriots will win the Super Bowl by 8 points, President Donald Trump gives up on the Pats in the third quarter.
• NFL Films captured Brady going up and down the sideline, rallying his teammates, “Let’s go! Let’s show some fight! Let’s play harder! Harder! Tougher! Everything!”
• Brady converts a fourth-and-three from his 46 on a quick out to Danny Amendola for 17 yards.
• James White took a Brady flip five yards for the touchdown making the score 28-9 with 14:51 left in the fourth quarter.
• In the Pats’ first six Super Bowls during the Brady/Belichick era, New England never completed a pass to a rookie yet fourth-round pick rookie Malcolm Mitchell hooked up with Brady six times for 70 yards.
• After being down 28-20 with 3:30 left, James White takes a 1-yard plunge into the end zone bringing the score to 28-26.
• After a 28-28 Overtime the Patriots win the coin toss. Patriots ball. Ballgame.
• The Patriots scored the final 31 points of the game after trailing 28-3 in the third quarter.
• President Donald Trump sends a congratulatory tweet to the Patriots – eats humble pie.
This was both the largest comeback of Brady’s career and in Patriots history. There was obviously some X factor that allowed the coach, quarterback and all the New England players to engineer such a feat. Here’s what Brady had to say about his performance…
“I always feel like I’m the same. Sometimes the stats don’t show that, but that’s how I feel … I felt the same in both of those games. I felt like I just go out there and do my job.”
Whether the coach, the quarterback or any of the players on the winning team felt it or not, there was definitely the presence of an Emotional Trigger to cause such a significant turnaround in the momentum of a game that was heavily subduing their offensive attack.
What’s Your Emotional Trigger?
The strengths that have helped you accomplish any feat, large or small, in your past experiences are also your greatest emotional triggers when you feel your present conditions are not honoring what makes you special.
When your brain perceives that someone or something plans to take or has taken these important things from you, your emotions are triggered to cause a reaction to get those things back. You may react with fear, anger or some other emotion and your subsequent behavior is rationalized causing you to take action.
Most Common Emotional Triggers
When you are not getting one or more of these needs you will become emotionally charged.
| Acceptance | Respect | Be Liked |
| Be Understood | Be Needed | Be Valued |
| Be in Control | Be Right | Be Treated Fairly |
| Attention | Comfort | Freedom |
| Peacefulness | Balance | Consistency |
| Order | Variety | Love |
| Safety | Predictability | Included |
| Fun | New Challenges | Autonomy |
The greater the importance of the need is to you, the more intense the emotional charge will be.
Aha! We now have a clue as to what the possible catalyst to the Patriots comeback was.
• The Falcons went up 28-3 with 8:31 left in the third quarter.
• NFL Films captured Brady going up and down the sideline, rallying his teammates: “Let’s go! Let’s show some fight! Let’s play harder! Harder! Tougher! Everything!”
This was a point where the Patriots may have felt as if they were losing control of the game and based on their past performances and history, the score was not reflecting the sense of value they’ve set for themselves. This pain of “not receiving” or having these “important things” taken away were in all likelihood the emotional triggers necessary to create the unstoppable emotional charge to strip the will from their opponents and swing the momentum back in their favor. Just a guess (wink).
Find Your Emotional Triggers:
Choose three items from the list that are the most important to you.
These should be the three things that can cause you to have the greatest emotional reaction when these needs aren’t met. Be very honest with yourself – these needs are not bad. You have them because at some point in your life these needs served you well. That became a learned condition of having your needs met.
For example, you may have had experiences which taught you that in order to have a successful day at school you must feel accepted, be treated fairly and be valued by your teacher and classmates. As you become attached to these needs, your brain monitors your present circumstances for conditions that threaten your ability to have these needs met. Your needs then become your emotional triggers.
The fact of the matter is that we perform at our best when there is the presence of intense emotion moving us toward our goal.
Preparing Yourself To Perform In Your “Peak State”
With a better understanding of what triggers you emotionally you can now evaluate a situation in which you are feeling one or more of the three items you chose from the list is in jeopardy and instantly recognize which need is affecting your emotional state. The next step is to be clear on what action can be taken to resolve this.
It is important to validate if there is a real and present danger threatening to take something away from you first. You want to make sure there is a real threat and if there is you want to approach it with a clear mind so your actions are pure and efficient.
BREATHE
[/dt_banner]
CLEAR
[/dt_banner]
DROP
[/dt_banner]
FOCUS
[/dt_banner]
Breathe in and out slowly and release the tension in your body.
Clear your mind of all thoughts.
Drop your awareness to the center of your body just below your navel while you breathe – this will help in clearing your mind.
Focus on one keyword/phrase that best represents how you want to feel or who you want to be in this moment. Implant this word into your conscious and repeat it over and over allowing it to guide your actions in achieving it.
At this point you are set on having your needs met by allowing yourself to take action with clarity – intelligently and in a controlled, focused manner. In the acting world, prior to performing a scene, this could be considered what is known as an emotional preparation required by method actors in order to fully get “into character”. In it’s sports world equivalent you may have heard a coach tell his players, “Get your head into the game!” No matter in what form it may come its all the same. It’s the need to shift your emotional state in a positive way that is more likely to produce a positive outcome. What’s its not is just simply attacking every situation with unbridled rage like a bull in a china shop…no Sir/Madam you’re too damn good for that.
It’s been shown over and over again in history that laser focus is required for great feats and that it’s a state of mind which allows you to perform at a “peak state”. You’ve identified the threat. You have a clear objective. Your mind is locked, loaded and you’re dialed in on what “need” you absolutely must satisfy.
[join-after-post]
A Final Word
Finally, in whatever game you play or work you do…play like it’s your last and work like there’s no tomorrow. Stay subscribed or Join Today for more updates with advice for optimal living and peak performance just like this.
