Guest Author: Elliott Waksman, MA in Sports Psychology

Food Network’s Chopped is 85% mental according to a recent competitor.  How do chefs mentally prepare and handle the pressure of cooking on TV’s biggest competitive stage? Find out here!

This Evolution Healthcare and Fitness blog is a special edition revealing mental toughness secrets and behind-the-scenes dialogue from recent Chopped competitor and Portland chef, Jun Robles, and Sport Performance Consultant, Elliott Waksman, MA, of Portland Sport Psychology. Together, Waksman and Robles worked on the following sport psychology techniques: cue words notecards (visual reminders of self-talk statements and cue words to refocus), dress rehearsals (simulated competition enable performers to become so familiar with the stimuli associated with competition that they no longer become distracted), defining success (what does success mean for you?), and controlling the controllable (staying present on the task at hand by focusing on factors in your control).

HANDLING NERVOUSNESS ON COMPETITION DAY:  Call time was 5am. The day before, I walked to the studio from my hotel… twice. The goal was to know where I was going and how long it was going to take. I listened to Mariah Carey radio to put a smile on my face. I tried not to think about food too much. I hit my cue word notecards the last moment of freedom I had.

OVERCOMING RACING THOUGHTS:  Being positive combats the racing thoughts. It is the same attitude I bring to work everyday. Interacting and being engaged in conversation sounds like a lack of focus, but it helped me conserve focus for when I needed it in the actual competition.

TRAINING LEADING UP:  I would basically do dress rehearsals, like actors often do before performances. Volunteers put boxes together for me to work on at home during the weeks leading up. They were never kind. Doing three practice boxes a day, I was ready for the Chopped marathon.

MOST HELPFUL AFFIRMATION: “Who has prepared better than me?” I had all the confidence in the world going in.

MESSAGE TO YOUNG COMPETITORS:  Chopped is grueling. It is a mental and physical contest. Cooking is a small part of the competition. It is as difficult as you want it to be. Go have fun.

IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORT SYSTEM:  My friends and family are all I have. They mean everything to me. If I had won, the viewing party would have looked exactly the same. The party might have raged a little differently and I might have had a much larger tab. No one was going to love me more for winning. No one loves me less for losing. Awards or accomplishments are nice to influence the outer circle, but in a comforting way, the inner circle does not give a sh–.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE IN THREE WORDS:  Pain. Growth. Humility.

BEING A WINNER VS. WINNING THE COMPETITION:  A quote comes to mind, “A turd that wins the Super Bowl, is a still a turd.” Losing sucks, I would always pick winning if I could, but that is not under my control. What I can do is be the winner I want to be everyday. The way I do anything is how I do everything. I am a winner everyday if I choose to be.