Gaining the Competitive Advantage
Every athlete wants to know the secret to gain a competitive advantage. Some will spend endless hours studying his or her competition to understand flaws or strengths in play, performance or routines. Others will practice until he or she is exhausted.
The best athletes understand, however, that the best competitive advantage comes from within themselves.
When performance is great, confidence levels are high and athletes perform better than normal. However, when performance suffers is usually when things are happening that the athlete can’t control – distractions, mistakes, poor calls, or stress.
You can learn how to accomplish everything in your set of goals for each practice or performance (even during stiff competition). The secret to consistent performance is learning how to control your thoughts and allowing your mind to trust in your body’s physical abilities.
I challenge you to be sure to use positive self-talk as you make progress. Instead of focusing on the things which go wrong, you’ll find yourself gaining confidence over the things which went well!
Ask yourself: During practice (or competition) today, what I was really good at? What did I learn today that I can apply to future practices (or competitions) that will give me a positive mental boost? (For example: “When I allow myself to focus on hitting the ball, I found that I play more freely and that I can minimize the external distractions.”)
Performance, whether physical or mental, improves over time. At the end of each week note the progress you’ve made. Now. at the end of each month you should begin to see clear progress. Keep this pattern up for at least three months and you’ll not only perform better, but you’ll establish a new pattern that will give you the ultimate competitive advantage!
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Need some ideas you can use for positive self-talk that are specific to your sport and your needs?
Send me an email to jre@protexsports.com. I will then arrange time to talk with you on the phone and help you create your own custom self-talk messages.
