The Importance of Positive Self Talk
by Karlene Sugarman, M.A.
Sport Psychology Consultant
"It’s not what you think you are that holds you back, it’s what you
think you are not."
I want you to take a minute and think about all the dialogue that goes
on in your head while you are running. Does this thinking help you
perform efficiently and productively? Does this thinking give you added
confidence? Is this thinking in your own best interest? I think you’ll
be very surprised at the answers. You have so much to time to think and
run things over in your mind, that what you are thinking and saying to
yourself had better be positive!!
Many times, you don’t need a competitor to beat you. You can do that
all on your own by saying negative things to yourself. You can either be
your own best friend or your own worst enemy - the choice is yours. It's
very black and white - positive self-talk will help your performance,
negative self- talk will worsen it. Positive self-talk helps you to
develop secure attitudes toward your performance and validates your
capabilities. Self-defeating thoughts full of emotion just perpetuate
your fears and doubts. Fear, anxiety and doubt are destructive to your
mental well-being. Negative self-talk is just setting yourself up for
misery. You need to learn to control your emotions or they will control
you.
Positive affirmation statements are short statements designed to
enhance self-image, help you achieve a secure mental attitude and
increase confidence. Take, for example, Muhammed Ali’s affirmation "I am
the greatest." Other examples are:
"I am prepared and ready to go."
"I am relaxed."
"I believe in my ability to succeed."
Effective affirmations are clear, realistic, personal, believable and
in the present tense. They will also aid you in achieving your goals.
Changing your self-talk is going to play an enormous role in increasing
your chance for successful performances on a more consistent basis.
William Shakespeare said, "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it
so." The all important first step in this process is monitoring your own
thoughts; the next step is controlling them. If you’re able to control
your thoughts, you can accomplish more than you were aware of - the task
is a hard one, but more than worth the effort. It’s important to use
repetition with your affirmation statements. This will help embed them
in your mind.
You need to identify situations in which you tend to be negative. For
every negative thought come up with two positive ones to replace the
existing negative self-talk. Every time you find yourself saying
something negative, stop right there and turn it around to something
positive and constructive - this is called thought stopping. For
example, "I hope I don’t choke again today." becomes "I’m going to
relax, trust my instincts, and I’ll do great." Using lead-ins like "I
am," "I will," and "I can" are very powerful and can effect your
feelings and perceptions about a situation. Repeat these specific
statements to yourself over and over.
Believe wholeheartedly in the affirmations that you are telling
yourself. You have ultimate control over your thoughts, so exercise
this control in any and all situations. You will soon find yourself
adopting more positive attitude, which will increase your enjoyment, and
ultimately help improve your performance.
(Adapted from Karlene's new book,
Winning the Mental Way: A practical
guide to team building and mental training.) Order here
Copyright 1999 by Karlene Sugarman, M.A.
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Sugarman, M.A your comments & questions here
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