“Forty-five years of research has determined that the emotional cycle has the greatest impact on athletes and the teams on which they play.” Athletes who are positive (above the line) will out-perform athletes with a negative (below the line) by a margin of 2:1. The Key below pertains to the emotional cycle. In comparing the “+” versus the minus “–“: In one study I found that an athlete with the emotional plus was 4.5 times more likely to play well when compared to an athlete with an emotional “-“
The beginning of the cycle, positive energies follow.
In this phase of the emotional cycle the player is confident, congenial and more willing to play as part of a team. These athletes have a positive mental attitude and when combined with a bit of luck that’s associated with this phase, they are a dominant force. Here athletes are fully charged with energy.
In each of the cycles this is the highest point and the athlete usually has the potential for a spectacular day especially if the emotional and one or both of the other two are also positive (above the line).
With an emotional positive the athlete is also very confident, congenial, even-tempered and willing to take the shot or make a play than athletes with a negative. Energies are charged but starting depletion.
In this Caution phase, lasting two days, the athlete is often too intense. In the second Critical day this can become more of a problem since, this portion of the cycle is followed by the minus “-“ phase and symbol.
Of all the phases of each of the biorhythmic cycles, this phase of the emotional cycle is the most detrimental to athlete’s performance and to the teams on which they play. The player lacks the necessary energies to be positive and confident. They are, therefore, very negative, pessimistic, and less willing to take the shot or attempt to make a crucial play. For example, in basketball the player with the emotional minus would rather pass the ball to another player than take the shot himself. The emotional minus is the most devastating biorhythmic phase for an athlete and a team with several players with this phase will produce very poor results. Energies are depleting or depleted.
Although at the bottom of the cycle the emotional “L” does not have as much of a detrimental effect as that of athletes in the minus phase.
Athletes are less negative and tentative than in the “-“ phase. Energies are re-charging in this phase and will soon become positive again.