Can Your Self-Talk Improve How You Perform? The more poignant question is whether self-talk affects or impacts competitive play. To determine if self-talk has influenced your performance, think of previous performances when you completely fell apart in a competition. What were your thoughts before spiraling downward? Did you mentally beat yourself up over a mistake or tell yourself … Sport Psychology Article…
How Can You Improve Your Mindset? Many athletes reach a point where they believe they have maxed their potential or can no longer improve. Some set career goals, and when they accomplish their objective, they become satisfied and lose their motivation to achieve more. For instance, maybe you set a goal of playing in college. Throughout high school, … Sport Psychology Article…
How do you improve your focus in competitions? Focus improves by practicing focusing. Most athletes show up to competitions and try to force themselves to focus throughout the competition. This focusing strategy rarely, if ever, works. It is easy to focus early in competitions or when you are on top of your game. However, when the pressure builds, … Sport Psychology Article…
Can you take your foot off the gas pedal during a competition? Ask yourself the following questions: There have been countless historic collapses in sports when teams had seemingly insurmountable leads yet found themselves on the losing end when the final buzzer sounded. You can probably think of a competition in your sport when a team collapsed after … Sport Psychology Article…
Is mental toughness really “a thing”? Mental toughness is constantly mentioned in interviews after sporting events. For example, in practically every basketball conference tournament or NCAA tournament game, a commentator, coach, or player talks about mental toughness. But does mental toughness really exist? If so, what is it, and how can it be developed? Simply stated, mental toughness … Sport Psychology Article…
Have you ever thought about the damaging power behind the phrase ‘to make matters worse’? The phrase “to make matters worse” further catastrophizes an adverse event. Many sports announcers use the phrase to describe an athlete’s or team’s worsening prospects or condition throughout a season. Many athletes are stuck in the habit of catastrophizing. They often highlight every … Sport Psychology Article…