Emotions are by nature contrary to feelings, being brief and changeable since they disappear from one instant to the next but in those seconds they generate enough energy to produce an important change in our behavior. Emotion is energy and energy is emotion.
These two components of the affective life have a great influence on how we approach our skiing performance, and can be classified into four zones:
- In the performance zone, high energy and positive emotion are combined. It is the best state for a good performance since it provokes an alert, enthusiastic, and focused attitude and state of mind.
- Then follows a survival zone where energy is high and emotion is negative. It can be defined as the second best condition for a good performance. At this stage the attitude is modified by a nervous and/or anxious disposition and a tense musculature.
- The zone of renewal follows. Here the energy is low but the emotion is positive so we feel tired, with a low level of desire, relaxed muscles, and a calm but with a distracted state of mind.
- The worst condition for achieving good performance is in the exhaustion zone where a combination of low energy and negative emotion is generated. In addition to being disempowered, bored, and unmotivated we feel frustrated, unfocused, and upset. Of course, no one can constantly be in the performance zone since we may go through the different zones according to our present mood.
Emotion and muscle tone
Muscles are affected during strong emotions tending to tense. In fear they contract and joints are prone to trembling. As we experience fear we tend to close our jaw to overcome that emotion, but this attitude increases the overall tension of our body. In anger, our teeth and fists are clenched and our general posture is tight. Diaphragmatic tension due to a negative emotion tends to generate the anxiety of falling since it reduces the energetic flow directed towards our legs and feet. Aggressiveness, which allows us to face the stress of a threatening situation, is an emotional state characterized by muscular activation of the back, legs and arms.
Emotion as preparation for action
With regard to the conception that emotion is preparation for action, we can take as an example that fear is our tendency to distance ourselves from the situation that provokes it; while anger can trigger the onslaught, that is, our decision to confront it.
Faced with a situation perceived as potentially threatening it is also the case of experiencing mixed emotions: prudence is a mixture of interest and moderate fear, so it implies the tendency to approach and at the same time to avoid.
This tendency to act could mean self-protection in the case of flight, or overcoming an obstacle in the case of deciding to confront it. Here, emotion is considered as an impulse, in escape as a need for protection and in attack as a coping intention. Finding ourselves on an off-piste where conditions do not seem safe while intending to face the descent, we also experience a state of need for self-protection that incites to evade that place and head towards a safe one.
