While I don’t believe numbers will ever truly reflect what is going on in a person’s mind, questionnaires can have some very important uses – such as well-being tracking. An important way to work towards improving performance, whether in day-to-day life or sport, is to promote well-being rather than waiting for problems to arise. One relatively easy way to do this is by ensuring you are tracking the natural peaks and troughs in your well-being. My clients complete a well-being questionnaire which allows us to track this influential psychological factor over time. Spending five minutes at least once a week allows us to assess how an athlete is doing at that moment relative to their past (and future) scores. When using a questionnaire devised by psychologists, certain questions target specific mental factors which indicate to your psychologist considerations which may not have emerged in sessions. This allows us the opportunity to talk through what is behind the numbers and find constructive solutions. Getting a baseline of certain well-being measures such as mood, stress levels, and pain levels allows us to do several meaningful things, such as:
Compare general well-being to well-being critical times:
It is possible to compare well-being at critical times to well-being during relatively normal periods in life. During critical times, such as long-term injury or a major transition, well-being can deteriorate. For example, while recovering from an injury, an athlete might:
- Become isolated from teammates and coaches
- Go from being active most of the day to being inactive
- Experience a dip in fitness and energy
- Lose a sense of independence
- Observe others improving while they’re unable to do so
Obviously, these factors would affect anyone’s well-being, and can result in behaviours which may create negative self-fulfilling prophecies. For example, the psychological side-effects of injury can effect one’s motivation to do important tasks such as physio, train mental skills, and eat well – which will of course have a knock-on effect upon return to play. The athlete who has been monitoring his well-being before injury and continues to do so while working through recovery may be able to spot important changes that have the potential to hinder injury rehabilitation – or, more generally, the ability to remain resilient throughout the more difficult times in life.
Spot negative patterns that have already formed or are beginning to form:
Everyone experiences periods in life where their well-being takes a significant dip. Whether this dip is a result of a traumatic life experience or a natural fluctuation, serious lows in well-being (and mental health) are often preceded by small changes in patterns of mood or behaviour. For example, imagine someone who begins to feel under-valued by their partner, parent, or someone significant in their life; this feeling is accompanied by several different behaviours and emotions, but you may not be able to put your finger on why these new behaviours and emotions are occurring. Over time, this feeling of not being valued may worsen or become more generalised – for example, towards coaches, teammates, or other important people. Further changes such as beginning to feel like there is no one to talk to, negative emotions such as anger, and so-on may worsen this feeling of being under-valued while also increasing negative behaviours, such as avoidance, which again creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once these changes gain traction, it is difficult to go back and re-programme yourself. However, if this same person were to track their well-being, it would be possible to spot subtle fluctuations and intercept the unhelpful emotions and behaviours that accompany them.
Allow you to take note of certain moods or behaviours you didn’t realise were occurring:
Whether positive or negative, the more information you have about how your brain functions the more control you will have. Well-being tracking can help identify the positive patterns in life as well as the negative. For example, maybe you have been experiencing several positive emotions within a certain period of time – what is causing this, and how can it be continued? Finding the strengths within ourselves and our lives is just as important as building on perceived weaknesses, as it is your strength which builds resilience.
On average, people are rarely asked about whether they feel valued, their levels of stress, sleep, or other mood indicators – which means we rarely think about them! If you forget to plan what to have for dinner, what tends to happen? You might end up hungry or indulging in something you shouldn’t. Similarly, if you don’t actively think about how to manage your well-being, it’s easy to overlook or find unhelpful ways to manage it.
The function of well-being tracking is not merely to look at the numbers and say “ok, this is how I am.” The goal is to have an honest conversation with yourself and ask “why am I like this right now?” This question might have a number of answers, such as “I’ve had a great month with several wins on the books, so I’m feeling motivated,” or “I’ve had several wins this month, but this is really increasing the pressure so now I’m stressed out”. Well-being tracking is a tool which can encourage you to naturally notice these changes throughout time and apply a critical eye to them, which will help to improve your well-being – and consequently your performance, relationships, resilience, and other meaningful factors in your life.
References:
Lundqvist, C. (2011). Well-being in competitive sports – the feel-good factor? A review of conceptual considerations of well-being. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, (4): 109-127.
Slade, M. (2010). Mental illness and well-being: the central importance of positive psychology and recovery approaches. BMC Health Services Research, (10).
te Wierike, S. C. M., van der Sluis, A., van den Akker-Scheek, I., Elferink-Gemser, M. T., Visscher, C. (2013). Psychological factors influencing the recovery of athletes with anterior cruciate ligament injury: a systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, (23): 527-540.
Wiese-Bjornstal, D. M. (2010). Psychology and sociocultural affect injury risk, response, and recovery in high-intensity athletes: a consensus statement. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, (20): 103-111.
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