Thinking differently: ‘Forget flow: stay focused and confident.’

The final part in our series exploring the coaching philosophy and approach of Julien Garcia, the French team paragliding coach. 

In the previous four issues we’ve looked at determinism, the importance of “thinking like a kid”, knowing yourself and your history, and appreciating the patterns that dictate successful flying. French team paragliding coach Julien Garcia is adamant that the “mental game” aspects of paragliding are over-stated, but acknowledges the importance of a positive mental attitude – and that the ability to maintain this separates the champions from the rest of us.

In 2021 I did a bit of research myself, and surveyed some of the top 20 world-class pilots, to compare their responses to those ranked in the WPRS in the 100-300 position. I was particularly interested in the role of self-appraisal and whether this gets in the way of performance. 

My theory, based on anecdotal evidence, is that when we’re flying around berating ourselves for falling back, or congratulating ourselves for doing well, such...