A safe environment is an environment that promotes growth. The final goal in elite sport is to gain full potential of all your capacities, physical and mental. This is called self-actualization. At the very least, you have to get rid of the things that will impede growth. Only then can you concentrate on promoting growth.
Corny analogy: for a flower to come to full blossom, you need:

Safe Environment:

Take it out of unsafe environment, like the middle of the street, and put it in a safe place, like a garden. With that alone, it will grow.

Decisions and Measures:

To make it grow bigger and better, you can promote growth by putting fertilizer on it.

Actualization:

full blossom.

In a human context, to become the best in the world, one has to break the mold of conformity, and try to do things that no-one else has done before. You want to create an environment where you can think rationally and try new things out, without fear of repercussions. To actualize you must be able to perceive and interpret reality correctly.

Choices: actualize versus desensitize

1) What specifically can come in the way of success? some examples.

delusions: believing things that are not actually true.

defensiveness: avoid input from others

desensitization: acting without emotion

All are problems with perceiving and interpreting reality. This effects decision-making and performance in an unpredictable way. What we cannot predict, we cannot control. Clearly, this is not what we want.

2) So why do we get caught up is these self-defeating ways?

To protect ourselves. These psychological walls have been created as a result of some bad experiences (fear, hurt feelings) and our lack of knowledge and/or courage to deal with them.

3) How do you get rid of self-defeating ways?

Develop a safe environment to work in. You cannot stop self-defeating ways “cold turkey”. These psychological walls were set up so you can function. If you get rid of these walls without as alternative plan of living, you will disintegrate. So as you create and reinforce a safe environment to work in, the defenses will not have any use, and most will just fade.

Communication:

1) Straight-forward:

If explanation/conversation is not straight-forward (i.e. you say what you mean), then something is wrong. So talk in straight-forward way yourself and expect others to reciprocate.

2) Confirmation:

repeat what each other says to make sure that understand correctly.

3) Difficult to communicate when emotional:

· When something bad happens, natural reaction is anger → depression → acceptance

· If angry → punch pillows

· If sad → cry

· When accepted the situation and calmed down, then can start thinking talking...

Team Dynamics:

1) Egalitarian:

· Communicating on the same level. Everyone is on a first name basis, so every idea is equally weighted.

· Not hierarchical, where there is ownership, control, and superiority of one individual over the rest.

· example: if one person perpetually holding up the rest (eg. always being late) do not consider it an endearing character trait. This person quite simply thinks that he/she is more important than the rest.

2) Good humor versus bad humor:

A sense of humor is a must, but please distinguish between good and bad humor to keep peace within yourself and the ones around you.

· do laugh at mistakes
    joy: healthy physically and mentally

· do not fuel own ego (make self feel better) at the expense of other people/property (destructive measures). (Examples: laugh at person instead of mistake, practical jokes, getting “wasted” destroying property...)
    relief: temporary “feel good”, but no long term psychological or physiological benefit.

3) Ethics:

I follow the ethical guidelines published by the Canadian Psychological Association. I do this because I believe that this is vital in promoting the trust and sincerity needed when one is trying to achieve high goals.