The words ‘getting in the mood’ are normally followed with ‘for sex’. While this, sadly perhaps, is not the subject of this post it is about being in the right mood for performance when it really matters. An Olympic hundred metres final, a Carnegie Hall concert and, yes, the all-important pitch.

In high performance sport and, I’m sure, in the performing arts, the difference between the good, the technically excellent and the great is an ablility to rise to the occasion, to harness not merely physical perfection or virtuosity but the emotional power and focus that lifts performance to the extraordinary. Continue reading →