Quick Mental Tips
Positive Mental Attitude – PMA
“don’t think of an egg yolk!” Bet you are thinking of one now. Quick tip: use positive words to describe the opposite to the negative. Everytime you say ‘don’t do’ or ‘don’t think’ you highlight and reinforce the negative. Quick way – egg yolk scenario “think of the white of an egg” – now what do you see? Simple but effective.
Goal Setting
The concept of ‘no pain no gain’ and always ‘setting high targets’ is not always correct. Goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed. This approach is known as SMART and is very common for setting goals. The simple tip with goals is to make sure you have building blocks in place to reach the end goal.
Training
From a mental point, training must not only be physical, but also you must have mental sessions. In every training session include some positive mental reflection and reinforcement of what you have done. Go over in your mind what you have done, what it felt like, what the specific elements were and try to think in slow motion to give you as much chance as possible to reflect.
Visualisation
“Imagine the smell of chips from the chip shop” – what does that do to you? Can you smell the chips, maybe the vinegar? Are you salivating? Visualisation is about experiencing something without being there, giving yourself the chance to train and know the feelings without leaving the comfort of home, the chair, or while you’re on the train or in the bath. It is scientifically proven that visualisation plays a major part in skill acquisition and preparation. Visualisation is used for preparation and also for rehabilitation work. Tip: Think how you feel as you get ready for a competition. How does it feel? What feelings do you have? If they are positive then try to use those each time. But also be mentally prepared for the times you need to adjust that; perhaps arriving late or not having all your kit.
Relaxation
Take a ‘pressure situation’; your heart is pumping faster and faster, you are getting so close to winning but you feel slightly out of control. Answer: Get more pumped up!? In almost every situation (without exception) that is not the solution. It is a question of calming and refocusing yourself – relaxation plays a major part in this. Relaxation is not always ‘chilling out’, it is about getting the body to relax for a split second, to focus on getting blood to the right areas of the body and for the mind to take control. Simple tip: When the pressure is on and you want to slow yourself quickly, take a few deep breaths, imagine you are breathing in through your tummy button and focus on a point about an inch behind it. This will slow your heart rate briefly and focus your mind on something too.
Motivation
If your coach said to you ‘come on you are rubbish. Is this all you can do? You are useless’, you are hardly going to be motivated, yet it is all too common. Motivation is about a Motive for Action. Motivation is intrinsically linked to your goals, to your confidence and most importantly to your own self belief. You need to know why you are competing, what you want to achieve and the reward you will get. Reward yourself for achieving the goals you set out to reach, and make sure you have smaller rewards for smaller goals on the way.
Anxiety Control
We all become anxious, whether it be through fear of failure, poor performance, nerves or lack of confidence. Anxiety control is a combination of many different elements and as so there is no quick fix for anxiety, it is all about hard training through physical skill and mental application. There are many techniques to work on for this, see our Masterclasses for more information.
Decision Making
Decision Making is a topic that is worked on more and more both with individuals, and also within teams. The level of pressure in sport has increased through higher levels of expectation and performance. There is now a much finer line and closer margin in those in the top 10 or 20 of a competition – those that win do so through sheer focus, preparation and decision making. Decision making is the difference between winning and losing, so how do you make the right decision? See our Masterclass section for more details.
Junior Sportsplayers & their Parents
This is one of the key areas. We work in growing numbers with parents, and clubs with promising juniors. It is a battle to know how to handle the promise a child has and also the self confidence or lack of it. The balance is asking them what they want, providing that and a comprehensive support network for them. There is no right way to handle the relationship, but it must never be a negative claustrophobic environment. As a parent have your child work with a coach or more than one coach, get exposure to different methods and styles. You would not let your child choose a car for you and equally they need to chose or be happy with a coach they feel they have chosen.