Athletes who have had performance training realize the damage that can be caused to their game when they allow negative thoughts, or what is known as "defeatist thinking," takes hold. A losing team more or less gives up or possesses a losing attitude that affects performance. A marathon runner, for instance, is plagued by feelings of his inadequacies and becomes sure he can't succeed for the duration. The strength of thought is often neglected and not given acknowledgment for all kinds of poor performance problems, missed plays, and even entire losing streaks and seasons.
Many of the renowned responses from people whose business is performance coaching are futile strategies that may help initially, but, over the long-term, actually work to empower the very unconstructiveness that the athlete is trying to tackle and defeat. Slogans like "think positive" or "believe in yourself" are great catchphrases, but they have very less to do with athletic performance, and as solutions to wayward thinking, they simply do not work. In reality, an athlete who continuously engages a negative thought with the hollow phrase, "I think I can, I think I can," like the infamous little engine that could, is merely affirming the negativity by engaging with it and allowing it a place on the stage.
In other words, in performance sports training, using catchphrases, or attempts to redirect negative feelings, gives lifeblood to negative thinking and takes one's attention away from the act of the performance. This type of mental coaching tends to enable the negative thoughts, making them something that need to be dealt with instead of a voice on the sideline that can be acknowledged then understood.
Negative feelings may, in fact, serve a different purpose - they help you see, with clarity, where you need to improve. So if you attempt to wrestle them down with positive affirmations or visualizations, you make them genuine, and provide them the power to really impact you.
In short, the finest way to deal with negative thinking and improve your team's efficiency is to comprehend that negative thoughts and feelings are usual, necessary, and have an often overlooked positive. They are an intuitive sign that our thoughts (not our life) is away from course, and if we don't look in another direction we will be certain to steer into trouble. Therefore, energizing negative thoughts by turning them into something that must be avoided is the last thing an athlete, or any performer, ever wants to do.
Many of the renowned responses from people whose business is performance coaching are futile strategies that may help initially, but, over the long-term, actually work to empower the very unconstructiveness that the athlete is trying to tackle and defeat. Slogans like "think positive" or "believe in yourself" are great catchphrases, but they have very less to do with athletic performance, and as solutions to wayward thinking, they simply do not work. In reality, an athlete who continuously engages a negative thought with the hollow phrase, "I think I can, I think I can," like the infamous little engine that could, is merely affirming the negativity by engaging with it and allowing it a place on the stage.
In other words, in performance sports training, using catchphrases, or attempts to redirect negative feelings, gives lifeblood to negative thinking and takes one's attention away from the act of the performance. This type of mental coaching tends to enable the negative thoughts, making them something that need to be dealt with instead of a voice on the sideline that can be acknowledged then understood.
Negative feelings may, in fact, serve a different purpose - they help you see, with clarity, where you need to improve. So if you attempt to wrestle them down with positive affirmations or visualizations, you make them genuine, and provide them the power to really impact you.
In short, the finest way to deal with negative thinking and improve your team's efficiency is to comprehend that negative thoughts and feelings are usual, necessary, and have an often overlooked positive. They are an intuitive sign that our thoughts (not our life) is away from course, and if we don't look in another direction we will be certain to steer into trouble. Therefore, energizing negative thoughts by turning them into something that must be avoided is the last thing an athlete, or any performer, ever wants to do.
About the Author:
Garret Kramer is the founder and managing partner of Inner Sports, LLC. His revolutionary approach to performance has transformed the way players, coaches, professional teams, and even parents view the athletic and life journey. To know more about Garret and performance training visit http://garretkramer.com/ NOW.
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