Self-Talk is a Habit
One thing that confident athletes utilize consistently is positive self-talk. They make positive self-talk a habit.
Sometimes I think people are surprised when I say self-talk is a habit. Usually because they don’t even realize what they are doing that is reinforcing their habit of negative self-talk.
They know they are negative with themselves, but they aren’t clear on why, when and what happens. So, oftentimes I’m helping athletes break the negative self-talk habit and instill a positive self-talk habit.
When athletes get stuck in the negative self-talk habit, they feel as though they’ve lost their confidence. They don’t believe in themselves and trust what they can do in a game.
They get stuck in their heads because they are constantly questioning themselves and second guessing their decisions.
They feel the pressure to perform a certain way, and as a result the anxiety piles on. Rather than going into a game feeling confident, they are feeling anxious, worried, and doubtful.
Ultimately, the result of negative self-talk leads to their performance taking a dip as well. And the more they don’t perform the way they want to, the more negative self-talk they use.
Thus, the habit is continually reinforced.
The good news is that self-talk is absolutely a habit. So just as it has been developed it can be broken and a new habit can be formed.
To break the habit of negative self-talk, begin to get clear on when you tend to use negative self-talk. What are you saying to yourself? How does it affect the way you perform?
Building your awareness first, allows you to have alerts to look out for as you break away from the negative self-talk habit.
Once you have the awareness, reframe those negative thoughts. Take those thoughts that tend to arise and reframe them to something more intentional.
For example: If you say to yourself “I suck” after a mistake, reframe that to “nobody’s perfect”, or if you say to yourself “Don’t strike out again” before an at bat, reframe that to, “I’m due for a hit”.
Once you’ve built the awareness and are reframing thoughts, you can reinforce a positive self-talk habit by:
Acknowledging 3 positives from each day. Choose to find 3 things that went well, you did well, areas you had success in (even if it wasn’t your best day).
Choose to focus on your strengths instead of your weaknesses. Go into a game thinking about your strengths, the areas that you are great and have the most success in.
Have a go to phrase that brings you confidence. Find your go-to phrase by asking yourself what you need to say/hear in order to perform your best?
Celebrate! Celebrate all of the wins, accomplishments, growth, and lessons learned. Bonus points if you can reward yourself.
The result of breaking the negative self-talk habit and intentionally instilling a positive self-talk habit will change your game on and off the field.
You’ll have the confidence to play big and take chances. You’ll enjoy playing rather than feeling pressure and anxiety. You’ll be able to brush off mistakes and focus on the next play. And you’ll bring your best consistently.
Ridding yourself of negative self-talk is only one piece of the puzzle to building confidence and developing your mental game. Ready to dive into mastering your mindset? Schedule a consultation today!