The Importance of Mental Skills
When you're training for an upcoming competition, you have your goal in mind and put together all of the pieces in order to reach that goal. This may include working on your fitness, practicing specific skills, adding an extra workout to your schedule, and watching game film. All of these components contribute to creating a successful game plan.
But, what about your mental game plan? What are you doing for your mental preparation? Do you spend time on mental training? Do you have a mental game plan to help you show up your best? If not, why?
We all know the importance of physical training for sport. That’s why you spend hours upon hours practicing, hitting the gym, and adding in private lessons. But, there is also the mental component that so often gets neglected.
The mental part of the game allows you to show up confident in yourself and believe that your preparation will be good enough to get you the result you want. It allows you to remain consistent, whether it’s practice, game time, a tough opponent or a weak opponent. Your mental game will allow you to stay composed and focused in the big moments so that all of the physical training you put in can actually pay off.
So if you aren’t putting in the mental training now, why not?
The assumption is usually you don’t need to train mentally until you aren’t performing or your performance goes down. Yet, this is not the approach we take with the physical side of sport. Let’s use fitness as an example. You don’t work on your fitness until you're fit and then stop running. You get fit, and continue running to maintain and continue to improve your fitness.
So, why don’t we have this same attitude about mental training?
Mental training is a key component to sport. Having a mental game plan will allow you to have all of the tools ready when you need them. You will know what to do and when. While also having confidence in the consistency of your mental game plan. And by continuing to put in the mental reps you will maintain and improve your mental fitness along the way.
Whether you are currently facing adversity or not, if you don’t have a mental game plan, there is no better time than now to make one! As the saying goes; “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready!”.
Questions to ask yourself if you don’t have a mental game plan:
What do I need to do the night before in order to show up my best on game day? If you are a person that can’t sleep the night before a game because you are feeling anxious or can’t stop thinking about the “what if’s”, you need a mental game plan! Find the skills that will allow you to get a good night’s rest and feel confident about the upcoming competition.
What do I need to do in order to ease my game day nerves? If you have game day anxiety, you need a mental game plan! Create a routine and use techniques that will calm you down and approach the game like any other.
What do I need to do in order to let go of mistakes? If you hold on to mistakes during the competition or let them affect your performance for the rest of the game, you need a mental game plan! Mistakes happen! So find the skills that will allow you to refocus and bounce back when you make one.
What do I need to do in order to stay composed when the pressure is on? Are you someone that tends to under-perform when there is a high pressure situation? Maybe you miss a shot you would normally make or you avoid taking a chance. Find the skills to allow you to play free and have the confidence to go for it in those moments.
What do I need to do in order to evaluate my performance? If you are someone that focuses on all of the negative things you did in a game and don’t acknowledge any of the positives, you need a mental game plan! Evaluating your performance is important, but it’s not helpful to only look at the negatives. Determine which questions you need to ask yourself post-game in order to celebrate your wins and have takeaways to implement into practice.
These are only a few scenarios that may come up for you, in which a mental game plan would benefit you. Most of these situations, people around you may say “Just calm down.”, “Just let it go.”, “Stay composed.”. But they don’t tell you how to do those things. That’s where your mental game plan comes in. It will not only tell you how, but it will tell you when. You will be mentally prepared for it all!
If you don’t have a mental game plan prepared, schedule a free consultation with me today! We will set mental performance goals, create and implement your game plan, and put in the mental reps so that you can maintain your mental fitness!
