What is Paralysis by Analysis in Sports? - Michael Italiano Coaching

Time to Think?

In a 2020 study published in Nature Communications, researchers concluded that a person experiences approximately 6.5 thought clusters per minute. You can think of a thought cluster as a group of similar thoughts. Each cluster can consist of 7-8 thoughts.

When your mind is bombarded with thoughts, performance declines or stalls. In tennis, Tour players have 20 seconds before each serve. Under pressure, those 20 seconds will significantly impact your play. Overthinking a serve will usually cost you the point. The following is an example of an outcome thought cluster for tennis: “What if I mess up? I can’t miss this shot. I will lose the game. If I lose, I won’t be offered a scholarship. There is no way I can afford college.” As you can tell, overthinking detracts from focusing on the moment.

The most critical moments for a golfer are just before striking the ball. In golf, PGA players are limited to 40 seconds per shot. However, this period of time is enough to over-analyzing your actions. This cluster example revolves around technical thoughts, “My forearms are so tight. Loosen grip. Don’t hit the ball too hard. The greens are slick. Focus on the hole. Bring the club straight back. Don’t decelerate the club head, or I will leave the putt short.”

Athletes overthink and over-analyze when they become consciously aware of their disruptive thought clusters and experience increased stress. They will feel rushed and become keenly aware of their physiological responses (sweating, breathing fast, heart pounding, tight muscles). In addition, these athletes will second-guess their strategy, worry about the outcome, compare themselves to other athletes in the competition, and overemphasize the importance of results. At this point, optimal play is practically impossible.

Factors Leading to Paralysis by Analysis

Several factors contribute to this phenomenon:

Too much information – Trying to process too much data while under pressure is emotionally overwhelming and fragments an athlete’s focus.
Overemphasis on trying not to fail – Trying to avoid failure causes your brain to oscillate between the past (mistakes and underperformance), present (strategy and technique), and future (outcomes and results). The inability to immerse yourself in the present task interferes with your ability to perform at your peak.
Lack of trust – If you don’t trust your ability to perform across various situations, your mind will become fertile ground for distractions.
What if’s – Conditional statements set in motion a domino effect of unproductive thoughts. When you think of all the possibilities of what might happen, you will feel more stress and increased anxiety.

How to overcome overthinking and over-analysis

Limit the amount of data – Surely, data is valuable. However, evaluating your competition situation shouldn’t be long and drawn out. Instead, you should only consider data that will contribute to peak play.
Pick and roll – Identify your strategy or action, then proceed. It is essential to turn off your thinking brain and, like Nike, “Just do it!”
Learn how to refocus – All athletes make mistakes. Learning to relax, let go, and move forward is a high-level mental skill.
Shoot down perfection – Instead of shooting for perfection, shoot down the notion that pursuing perfection leads to peak performance. Instead, strive for excellence or being your best, given your circumstances.

In sports, everything has a time and place. The time to think and analyze your performance is AFTER you compete, not during.

Coach Michael

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