One of our niche specialities at Elite Psychology and Wellness is sports psychology and performance. We specialize in supporting our athletes in managing their emotions, balancing their priorities and gaining the skills they need to be successful in their sport and in life.
One of the ways we work with athletes in managing their mindset and gaining success in their performance and achievements is through mental skill development. What are mental skills? Mental skills are the way that athletes, and really any high achieving individual, can manage their mind so they can perform at their best.
Want to learn how to maintain a positive and balanced mindset from a sports performance perspective? Read below for a few mental skills athletes can develop to optimize their performance.
Positive Self-Talk:
Our thoughts can shape our behavior. And the way we talk to ourselves, that inner dialogue we have with ourselves, can either create support or cause distress. The way we talk to ourselves can also have an effect on the way our mind and bodies connect and work together to support our performance. So yes, talking to yourself in a positive and healthy way is so necessary. If our self-talk is negative or anxious, we can perform from a negative or anxious place, which won’t be effective. If we are always talking down to ourselves, we will condition this feeling, which will affect the way we feel and the way we ultimately perform.
Controlling the Uncontrollable:
This is one of our most used phrases in sports performance and mental skills work. Control the uncontrollable or rather control what you can’t control. Basically we work on teaching the athlete to control the athlete. Control your thoughts, emotions, actions and whatever else you have the power to control. There are a lot of things in sports and in life that you can’t control. Focusing on things you can’t control will deplete your energy and make you lose focus. When you remind yourself to control what is in your power to control, you maintain your calm, your focus and your mindset, all optimizing and supporting your performance.
Goal Setting:
Goal setting is super helpful when it comes to performance. We want to know where we are and where we want to be. Setting goals for yourself now and for the future can help anyone perform at their best and have more immediate success. Consider trying SMART goals. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. These goals are thought out, written down and are goals that provide a clear focus and purpose which will increase motivation and achievement.
Reframing Thoughts:
Reframing thoughts is essential to creating, developing and sustaining a balanced and positive mindset. Your thoughts become your actions. And your actions are inevitably something you
have some control over. We can’t control what the wind on our golf tournament, or the skills of the other team, or even how a situation might make us feel, all of which may trigger our thoughts, but we can work on controlling those thoughts so we don’t spiral into negative thinking.
Need more support just give us a call! Our expert performance counselors are here to help!
