The Power of a Brain Dump
How often do you find yourself ruminating over situations from the past? Do you dwell on mistakes and think about all of the could have, should have, would have’s, even when the game is over? Do you replay a comment your coach made for days? Holding onto things from the past can eat away at your confidence over time. You start to overanalyze or internalize things. You start defining yourself based on something from the past rather than focusing on the present and what you’re currently doing.
How often do you let negative thoughts cloud your mind? Do you allow your inner critic to tear you down with doubt and fear? If your inner dialogue is critiquing everything you do or stressing over what isn’t working, your mind shifts from believing you can do it to you can’t do it. Your mind is clouded with doubt. You don’t see the possibilities clearly. The only thing your mind sees is why something won’t work, why you aren’t good enough, worries of what others will say or see.
How often do you worry about what if’s? What if you mess up and it costs us the game? What if I don’t make this shot? What if I start and I’m too nervous to play good? What if I let my team down? Allowing negative what if’s to take up your brain space creates feelings of anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear. You aren’t able to show up your best because all you can think about is the worst case scenario.
If you’re spending a lot of your mental energy on any of these your mind is taken away from performing at your best. It limits how much mental energy you can put towards performing and having confidence in your game.
If any of these sound familiar to you, start using a brain dump! Clear your mind. Create space.
A brain dump is spending 2-5 minutes writing down all of the thoughts in your brain. These usually show up as doubts, fears, and worries. It’s all of the negativity that feels like sticky gunk in your mind. It’s the thoughts that you know lead to a downward spiral when they come up.
A brain dump is effective because it allows you to get it all out of your head and on paper. When you write it out, it’s easier to process. Oftentimes, you can look at what you’ve written and see the absurdity or how it’s untrue. Because it helps you process what you’re thinking about, it limits ruminating.
Most importantly, a brain dump creates mental space so that you can keep your mind on what matters. You’ll feel lighter and less weighed down after getting it all out.
Things to keep in mind when using a brain dump.
Don’t filter yourself. Whatever comes up, write it down. It’s better to have it on paper than to allow it to continue floating around in your mind taking up brain space.
Don’t judge yourself. There’s no need to judge yourself for the thoughts you’re having. Show yourself compassion and understand that it’s normal to have fears, worries, doubts. But choose to let them go as you write them out and choose different thoughts to replace them with.
Use it regularly. The more you use a brain dump the clearer your mind gets. You are able to have more awareness of what thoughts to look out for. And your mind has more mental space to focus on what will help you perform at your best.
A brain dump is a really simple mental tool that has immense benefits on your mental game. I want to challenge you to utilize this skill daily. Spend 2-5 minutes at the end of your day writing down the thoughts that were clouding your mind that day. As you use it, feel the weight lift, and the mental space clearing.
Once you start utilizing a brain dump it’s so much easier to recognize which negative thoughts you want to look out for. From there, you’ll want to recognize the negative thoughts, and replace them with positive ones. Sounds simple, but sometimes this is the most challenging part of making a mindset shift. If you’re ready to make that shift, schedule a consultation today. We’ll develop these skills so that you are showing up as your best self consistently!