How a New Perspective Can Improve Your Game
Football. Baseball. Basketball. League of Legends. E-sports, whether it’s the professional scene with millions of dollars at stake or just a group of friends playing for fun, has become more and more like traditional sports. The similarities in terms of competitiveness, teamwork, and strategy make it an exciting spectator event. As both a sports coach and a League of Legends coach, I believe that adopting an athlete’s mindset is crucial for personal improvement. However, there may be another approach.
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The Next Level
When it comes to traditional sports, athletes talk about getting into ‘the zone’. It’s a state of complete focus where everything comes together to enhance performance. Scientific research shows that this state is closely related to the release of endorphins, also known as the ‘Runner’s High’. Typically, getting in the zone requires total immersion in the field of expertise and a trigger that pumps adrenaline into the body. However, in the world of e-sports, there is no physical trigger. This makes it challenging, if not impossible, to achieve that heightened state of focus and performance.
Borrowing From the Arts
In order to enhance improvement in e-sports, we need to look beyond our own culture and learn from other fields that deal with similar issues. The arts, such as music, poetry, and painting, have a history of artists achieving a heightened state of focus and creativity through immersion in their craft. This parallel suggests that there may be techniques we can borrow from the arts to elevate our performance in e-sports.
Changing Perspectives for Improvement
In e-sports, we often treat the game like a sport, focusing on winning and losing. However, this mindset can hinder growth and prevent players from exploring different playstyles and finding their own identity in the game. Instead of solely focusing on winning, the goal should be personal improvement and self-reflection. Shifting the focus from ‘I must perform’ to ‘I must find my solution through trial and error’ can lead to greater creativity and development.
In order to make this shift, it’s important to understand that winning the game should not be the main goal. Instead, aim to play a game where you’ve given it your all and can be proud of your effort. Like an artist expressing their thoughts and ideas on canvas, use the game as a medium to experiment, learn, and share your unique interpretation of how the game should be played.
Finding your playstyle takes time and you will make mistakes along the way. But it’s important to stay focused on the process and keep trying new things.
I hope that reading this inspires you to gain a new perspective on your game of choice. Who knows, you may discover the artist within you?
About the author: Nicolai ‘Hazel’ Larsen is a certified sports coach with six years of experience. He is also a challenger ranked fives coach, a trained orator, and a published article writer. Additionally, he’s pretty good at juggling!
esports, League of Legends, sports, performance, improvement, playstyle, immersion, artistic perspective, personal growth