7 | die empty

I recently heard DJ Jazzy Jeff give some advice to fellow artists:

“Die empty” got me thinking about similar turns of phrase, which brought some lyrics from mid 90s to mind:

If you battle L
You picked the wrong head
I smash mics like cornbread
You can't kill me
I was born dead

Big L “Put It On”

Imagine what it would mean for an athlete to combine being “born dead” with an effort to “die empty” on a moment-to-moment basis. That would be powerful! Not that I am the first to figure this out. NHL goalie Devin Cooley previously made the rounds on social media because of his comments after a stellar outing:

Born dead. 

Die empty. 

There are no thoughts. 

There is no future. 

Nothing matters. 

Nobody cares. 

We’re all gonna die.

I am not smart enough to explain why this works, nor do I possess the philosophical chops to analyze it to the degree it deserves. But I am smart enough to recognize that these individuals are on to something. And if you look beyond music and sport, you can see performers who take this approach even farther. Listen to Stephen Colbert explaining to an audience member the value of “learning to love the bomb.”

Put all these insights into a blender and you end up with a powerful realization: If you accept that you are already dead, you become unkillable.

This approach may not be for everyone, but there does seem to be an odd connection between the present moment and eternity. Between life and death. Between accepting defeat and freeing yourself to play in a way that makes victory more likely.

The goal of the mental game is a calm mind and a relaxed body, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that these approaches work for some athletes. After all, what do we say when people pass away? Things like “they are finally at peace” or “their suffering is over.”

So the next time you find yourself struggling with thoughts that hurt your performance in the present, consider a more morbid version of self-talk than you may typically turn to. I will leave you with a few ideas to get started, but would love to hear more!

• Feeling pressure about a high-stakes performance? Nothing matters!

• Distracted by what others may think about your efforts? Nobody cares!

• Nervous about the next play or point? There is no future!

• Overthinking during a tight competition? There are no thoughts!

• Not getting the response you hoped for? Love the bomb!

• Not sure whether to share your work? Die empty!

Janieke Bruin-Mollenhorst. 2020. The musical eulogy and other functions of funeral music. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 82(1), 25-41.

Janieke Bruin-Mollenhorst wanted to explore the role of music during funerals. Previous research had relied upon interviews to determine the intentions for the use of music, so Bruin-Mollenhorst took an observational approach to determine if the music achieved the stated goals. In short, she wanted to see if music in funerals functioned as it was intended.

To address the question, Bruin-Mollenhorst observed 44 funerals, which included a total of 236 pieces of music (min 3, max 17). In each instance, she tracked the answers to several questions:

• What music was played?

• When was music played?

• Were other activities happening during the music?

• How was the music announced and reflected on?

• How were the lyrics referred to in other parts of the funeral?

• How did the music relate to other funeral elements?

Bruin-Mollenhorst found that music serves 3 primary functions related to the ritual of a funeral service:

• Funeral: marks beginning/end, provides background music, and alternates with other elements

• Identity: extends spoken words to address the identity of the deceased

• Emotion: serves to regulate and evoke emotional responses

In her conclusion, Bruin-Mollenhorst suggests the term musical eulogy to refer to any music specifically chosen because of its connection to the deceased. Unlike a spoken eulogy, she argues that musical eulogy brings with it a direct memory of the deceased. With a musical eulogy, “the main focus is not on the lyrical content but on what it recalls, which in the case of funerals is a part of the deceased person’s identity” (p.39). Overall, her research points to the importance of music in the ritual of a funeral.

potential translations to sport: I prefer to think about pre- and post-performance behaviors as rituals rather than routines. Routine implies something that may not require much thought and produces a predictable outcome. Rituals are embedded with meaning and are powerful, in part, because they require us to acknowledge an outcome that is beyond our control and may not end favorably. You don’t perform the behaviors to ensure success, but rather to strengthen your conviction about advancing with courage regardless of the odds.

Many athletes use music in their pre-performance activities. This research supports that choice, but also points to how it may be used even more intentionally. The 3 functions identified by Bruin-Mollenhorst are easily adapted to describe how music could be used ahead of competition:

• Schedule: Music could be used to establish the beginning/end of pre-competition preparations. It could signal the shift from one pre-competition activity (e.g., stretching) to another (e.g., meditation). It could alternate with activities to provide momentary breaks or prompt an athlete to progress to the next component. In short, it could provide a framework upon which to attach every element of preparation.

• Identity: Music is highly personal, so pre-competition choices may help remind an athlete of who they are, why they compete, and what matters to them. Because music holds such a powerful connection with memory, coupling it with imagery or video highlights could also be a way to remind an athlete of who they are at their best.

• Emotion: Music has the power to evoke emotions or assist in managing them. It can do the same for energy. For many athletes, managing pre-competition energy and emotion is a challenge. Music may help make that process easier, preserving needed energy for the upcoming effort.

Nikola Jokić recently got some attention because of DeAndre Jordan’s comments about his musical preferences…

Anytime Nikola requests a song, if it's not Serbian folk music, it's MANY MEN by 50 Cent.

The internet responded, and there is already a highlight reel set to the music.

This has become something of a joke, but the reality is that using music to lock in on a desired mentality is a great idea. Thinking alone is extremely inefficient (via Greg Warburton), but music - and, more generally, sound - can take your mood, energy, focus, and thinking from one place to another almost instantly (music producer Lucas Murray spoke to this in a now paywalled op-ed*). Mental performance coach Zach Brandon recently likened self-talk to the brain’s personal playlist, so why not use music to make this process easier. Maybe you are like Jokic and one song is all you need. Maybe you have multiple mindsets that are necessary for success and can identify specific music linked to each one. The possibilities are endless, but there is no reason to rely upon thinking alone to do the lifting!

Note: Keanu Reeves taught us this lesson years ago

* Reach out if you want the full text; I am 97% sure I have it somewhere in my files!

I took a trip back to 2002 for this issue’s lyrical spotlight. At the time, I was doing what was necessary to complete my undergraduate degree. That had me in an Intro to Theatre course, which meant Hamlet was on the syllabus. We made our way through the famous “to be, or not to be” soliloquy…

To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Act 3, Scene 1)

And it sounded a lot like Styles P to me:

They said, "Death is eternal sleep"
But the only thing is you ain't really sure
If you prepared for the bed

Styles P “The Life”

I am keeping it very simple and going with songs that have die, death, or dead in the title. If you have other suggestions, dump them in the comments!