It's all in the mind...or is it?

Superstitions

–noun

1.

a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like.

Superstitions – some may pass them off as silly hocus pocus but there are a lot of people out there that are strong believers and this can really affect how people live their lives. 

There are your common superstitions such as:

• Bad luck to walk under a ladder
• Don’t open an umbrella inside
• Breaking a mirror will bring you 7 years bad luck
• Tossing salt over your shoulder
• Black cat crossing your path
• Beware of Friday 13^th
• Unlucky number 13:  no row 13 on a plane…I always just feel that row 14 is row 13…??
• Lucky horseshoe
• Touch wood for luck

Growing up I struggled to walk from point a to point b as I HAD to avoid the lines/cracks in the pavement…I am not entirely sure what I thought would happen if I touched a line or crack…maybe I felt I would slip through it (I was very skinny back then). But this not only slowed me down on my travels but it ensured I walked in the most ridiculous way.  As a kid I read Roald Dahl "The Wish" and could really relate to the little boy who tried to walk across a colourful carpet to his front door where each colour was in his mind either deadly snakes waiting to kill him (the black bit) or red hot lumps of coal that would burn him (the red bits) and the only way across and out the house was on 'land' (the yellow bits).  The mind is an amazing thing...

Then there are the little ‘good luck’ rituals you go through whether it is before a big game, an important exam or anything that means a lot to you.  These rituals you wholly believe are what stand between you and victory.  I know this because it was a HUGE part of my tennis life.  I played tennis quite seriously at school and even managed to make the Zimbabwe Schools tennis team when I was 18…at the time I really believed a big part of my success was down to following certain rituals!! 

When serving during a match I was very careful about which tennis ball I used during each point.  If I served and won the point I had to use a different ball for the next point, however if I had lost the point then I used the exact same ball again, if I lost the next point again I would change balls regardless!!  But what happened when my opponent served?  Well I felt the only way I could control it would be not to see them chose a ball and then it wouldn’t make a difference (clearly psychological!). This may sound ludicrous but I still do it to this day!! 

I know there are many sports stars out there who have certain strange rituals they follow before a big game:

• Gary Lineker used to have a bath an hour before playing.
• Goran Ivanisevic would always try to be the second person to get up from his chair on a change-over and never step on any lines.  Apparently if he won a match then off court he would repeat everything he did the day before, from eating the same food at the same restaurants to even trying to talk to the same people…
• Atherton would never give an interview if he was not out overnight.

A few more from the following source: http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/2147-0.html?from=trhs

• Cristiano Ronaldo: pre-match ritual of getting his hair cut for fear of jinxing his scoring run
• Rafael Nadal: every changeover he ensures his water bottle goes back to exactly the same spot or position each time, right down to the last centimetre
• Serena Williams: ties her shoelaces the same way every game, tries to use the same shower before each match and is said to favour the same socks throughout an entire tournament
• Andy Roddick: refuses to change his shirt during a match if he is playing well

So superstitions and rituals – they really are funny things but at the end of the day whether you believe in them or not if it gives you a sense of power which helps you succeed then keep them coming…it can’t be such a bad thing can it?

Do you have any superstitions – sporting related or not?  Share them…you never know you might not be alone.