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Feature
Mental Game Article
Modifying
Beliefs that Hurt Your Composure
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
What are unhealthy beliefs or irrational beliefs and how are they relate
to your sports performance? Irrational or unhealthy beliefs
are thoughts, feelings, ideas, attitudes, or ingrained ways
of behaving that are self-defeating and often not based on reality.
No matter how much visualization and goal setting you do, these
beliefs will hold you back from achieving your potential in
sports.
Many irrational
beliefs are born out of expectations ("Others expect me
to win all the time"), while others come from perfectionistic
ideals ("I must be perfect in my sport to win"). These
beliefs athletes hold tightly to are automatic scripts that
are kept in one’s head about how life "should"
be.
Irrational
beliefs can also be ineffective, habitual responses you learn
to use to protect your ego when faced with trying situations
("I did not win today because I didn't really try hard
enough"). These beliefs will keep you stuck from progressing
in your sport.
How do irrational
beliefs undermine your composure? The best way I can highlight
how self-defeating irrational beliefs are is to use an example.
The classic example of irrational beliefs is the athlete who
has strict perfectionistic ideas about his sport.
The perfectionistic
athlete believes that he or she should and must perform perfectly
to win or play well. For perfectionists, this is an unrealistic
demand they place on themselves, which causes additional expectations
about performance.
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Recently,
I received a phone call from one of my racing students who maintained
the belief that he should be perfect and win all the time. He
viewed winning as success and anything less than winning a race
as a failure – what we call "all or none thinking"
in sports psychology.
If he got
passed on the track by another racers – thinking he did
not have a chance to win – he became frustrated, lost
his composure and stopped trying altogether because this did
not match his belief about winning. Needless to say, his irrational
beliefs about winning - all the time - were holding him back.
He lost his desire and confidence when he did not perform up
to an ideal level of performance.
How do you
uncover and deal with beliefs that keep you stuck? The first
goal is to become aware of your own self-defeating beliefs –
this is a big step in itself. You must first identify the beliefs
that cause anxiety or frustration. The next step is to learn
a new philosophy or way of thinking about your sport.
What are
the top irrational beliefs I know based on my one-on-one work
with athletes and teams.
Top
Four Irrational Beliefs in Sports:
1. Perfectionism.
An unrealistic expectation of performing perfectly, leading
to excessive pressure and frustration when not performing to
one’s expectation.
2. Self-Conscious
Behavior. This is a belief that you are the focus of people
around you, which is born out of social approval.
3. Over-Generalization.
Athletes use past events, sometimes a single event, to define
expectations for future performances. It then becomes a self-defeating
prophecy about what should happen in future performance, such
as "I never swim well in this pool."
4. Negative
Self-Labels. Labels, you give yourself, are the most destructive
and hard to overcome beliefs of any beliefs. These are judgmental
self-labels you use to define yourself as an athlete. Some labels
that are common with perfectionist athletes are: choker, butterfingers,
or loser.
How does
an athlete overcome these unhealthy beliefs? Let me first say
that it is a huge step just to recognize and identify these
beliefs even exist. However, in order to improve your mental
game, you must begin to change these beliefs and adopt new healthy
ones. This can be a difficult task if the belief is one that
you have held onto all your life.
For you
to change any belief system, you must begin by questioning yourself
about these beliefs – sort of a personal rebuttal to your
own ineffective beliefs.
Below is
an example...
-
Unhealthy belief: "If I don’t finish first in the
race, I am a loser."
-
More productive belief: "Losing a race does not mean
I am a loser. I am not perfect and cannot expect to win every
race I enter. I accept this. My goal is to race up to my ability."
You have
to look honestly at the beliefs that stifle your potential and
keep you stuck in old patterns. Once you identify just how limiting
some beliefs are, it is easier to accept that change is necessary.
Once you decide to make positive changes that positively affect
your mental game and performance, then you can take the final
step of modifying your beliefs to enhance your confidence and
composure.
If you want
all my secrets for replacing irrational beliefs with healthy
ones, go grab the latest program in The Confident Athlete
series, titled The
Composed Athlete: A 14-Day Play for Maximum Composure!
Sports
Specific Mental Training Tip
Peyton
Manning on Coach Dungy's Model of Composure
Everyday
it’s common to see coaches and teams on television that
lose composure during games, especially when behind in the game.
These coaches become frustrated, panic and resort to drastic
measures to get their team back into a game. These coaches only
add to a team’s loss of composure and the likelihood they
won’t succeed.
Remaining
composed after mistakes or when your team is behind in a big
game is a trait of championship teams. Great coaches have the
ability to instill composure into players and give them the
mental calmness they need to stay mentally tough and patient
when losing a big game.
"That's
something I've always said, since Coach Dungy has been there,
kind of that calm look he has on his face. He's calm on opening
kickoff, and he's calm when you're down 21-3. How many guys
can say that? He's just a cool customer. I think that really
spreads through the rest of the team. It cannot be a panic situation
and you can't try to get it all back at once."
~Peyton Manning
Coach Dungy’s
calmness under pressure when down 21-3 gave the Colts' players
the composure to come back and win against the Patriots. His
model of composure inspired his team to remain calm, poised,
and not panic when behind. Thus, if you are a coach or an athlete
and have to excel in crunch-time or when behind remember to
stay patient and set a good example for your team or teammates.
Podcast
of the Month
Get Psyched for Sports
- Podcast of the Month!
Podcast 11 talks about how Peyton Manning took
a page from Tom Brady's book on Mental Toughness. Manning and
Brady faced off last weekend in the AFC wildcard playoff for
the 2007 super bowl. Dr. Cohn explains how Manning and the Colts
stayed composed and mentally tough when behind 21-3 to make
a comeback in the second half to win over the Patriots 38-48.
Show me
the Podcast of the Month!
Pro
Athlete Quote of the Month
"Some
golf courses fit your eye, and some courses just don't. Every
time I played on the Cottonwood Course at the Byron Nelson,
it doesn't fit my eye at all. But that's how it is sometimes
and you've just got to overcome it. It's more of a mental challenge.
You've still got to place the ball correctly around the golf
course. That doesn't change, just because the golf course doesn't
fit your eye doesn't mean you can't execute."
~Tiger Woods, PGA Tour
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Doc Cohn
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instead of negatively when an unforced error happens during
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Dr.
Patrick J. Cohn
Master Mental Game Coach
Dr.
Patrick J. Cohn is the President and founder of Peak Performance
Sports of Orlando, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from
the University of Virginia in 1991, and founded Peak Performance
Sports in 1994. Dr. Cohn is an author, speaker and one of the
nation's leading mental game experts. His coaching programs instill
confidence, composure and effective mental strategies that enable
athletes and teams to reach their performance goals. Dr. Cohn
has helped athletes from a variety of sports backgrounds (both
amateurs and professionals) identify and develop the mindset needed
to achieve peak performance. World-class golfers, runners, shooters
and auto racers, as well as motocross, tennis, baseball, softball,
football and hockey players, are among those who have benefited
from his mental game coaching and training.
Make
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