Another LooK at Radiosport: the 3 P's

You may remember a WQ6X BLOG comparing radiosport contesting to speech
contests in Toastmasters.  In that Blog I introduced the 6 P's: PLANNING, PREPARATION, PRACTICE, PERSISTENCE, PRESENTATION & PROTOCOL.  
Now, as it turns out, there is another way of looking at it by way of 3-P's: PATIENCE,
PERSISTENCE & PERSEVERANCE.

 

Being PATIENT requires that we learn to dial-down our anxiety-level at
all times, often by moving down into the middle of the anxiety experience. 
I often remind my biofeedback clients to "transform their frustration-energy
into pro-active energy", to in effect, "Get out of your Head and into your Experience".

 

PERSISTENCE (discussed as one of the 6 P's) is simply NoT GIVING UP.  Virtually every time
I run a frequency - stations will call in (often frantically).  I work one station in front of them (10-seconds max.) and afterwards, they are GONE.  Really?  A moment ago, you were DESPERATE
for a QSO.  10-seconds later and you are off doing something else?  That is neither Patient OR Persistent.  wOw!  Am I missing something?

PERSEVERANCE is about having an overall operating schedule worked
out for a given radiosport event and then (more-or-less) sticking with it. 
In speech contests it means rehearsing/practicing our speaking week-after-week until the actual event is finally over with.  Obviously if changes need to be made, they are made; we then continue forward from that point.  

 

 

All too often, we use the need for changes as an excuse to go off and do something else entirely.  Maybe we DO need a brief break.  However don't let that distance become the reason for not continuing on.  Sometimes Space-WX phenomenon can produce some POOR radiosport band conditions for a short while.  These are periods when catching up on sleep or doing station maintenance can make the best use of downtime.  For speech contests, taking a practice-break allows us to come back and take it to the next level.

For me, speech contests and radiosport contesting are about creating the BEST performance possible with everything that is available to me in that period of time (5 to 7 minutes for speech contests vs. 24 - 48 hours with radiosport).

What about YOU?

What is YOUR secret thoughts about success in radio sport and speech contests?