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Are Your Nerves Affecting Your Performance?
1. Positive visualization – Take a few minutes on the night before or morning of a match to go through this process of positive visualization. If you know that you are vulnerable in a particular situation (e.g. hitting a wide forehand, or capitalizing on a big lead) make sure that you visualize yourself having success in this area.
2. Have a plan – Having a clear plan to focus on at the beginning of a match will go a long way towards relieving some of those pre-match nerves. That is not to say you won’t have to change this plan throughout the match but it will certainly help to give you a positive direction in the first few games. Remember- a bad plan is better than no plan at all!
3. Take a deep breath
4. I’m not nervous…I’m ready!
Try to perceive your nervousness as a sign that you are ready and ‘up for the competition!’ Being nervous is a good thing- it shows that you care about what you are doing and that your body is preparing itself for what might be ahead! If you can change the way you think about being nervous it can make a huge difference on the playing field.
For more information about mental performance as well as overall athletic performance enhancement check out our websites. The links are on the right of the page.
Staying on top of things will help put the puzzle together
Whether it is the beginning or the halfway point of the season it is important to establish a “tone”. There is going to be ups and downs during the season and if it is the halfway point then you may have experienced these situations. Being prepared for the grind of a long season is a mental and physical challenge.
To minimize any negative effects it is important to set a tone for yourself about what your attitude is going to be and what are your expectations this season. Think about your preparation in the offseason (if in season, week to week) and consider what goes into it. What did you prepare for? Are you ready?
After answering these questions set some goals for yourself and your team. Structure them with some clear actions and keep focused on what has to happen next for you to be successful. Setting a tone begins with yourself, know yourself and what is expected then make sure it happens.
For more information about mental performance as well as overall athletic performance enhancement check out our websites. The links are on the right of the page.
Be Confidence Using The 3 Rs
Building confidence is difficult, it takes work and effort but by simplifying the process you can be successful. Using the 3 Rs you can simply start building up and/or improving your confidence right away. Try to keep a weekly log of these thoughts, situations, etc. so you can see your progress.
Repeat (strengths)- You want to repeat your strengths over and over again. Include your sport specific, physical and mental strengths. The preferred method is write them down but you can also repeat them to yourself.
Rationalize (thoughts)- Any thoughts you have positive or negative should be rationalized. “Why am I good at _______?” “Why can’t I do _______?” Basically, keep working on asking and answering “why” to all of your thoughts.
Replace (negative w/ positive)- When negative situations or thoughts occur you want to replace them with something positive. Maybe a tough situation isn’t negative but instead a challenge that you can overcome.
For more information about mental performance as well as overall athletic performance enhancement check out our websites. The links are on the right of the page.
Flow is easiest to achieve when:
- You perceive that your skills are good enough to match the perceived difficulty of the contest.
- The competition is not so easy that you become bored and do not concentrate.
- You have distraction under control
- You are paying full attention to the performance, with no analysis of errors or technique
- You are relaxed and alert
- You are thinking positively, and have eliminated all negative thoughts
- It is allowed to develop, and not forced
- You have practiced and trained attention
The following things in particular are avoided:
- Wanting to win
- Show off
- Wanting to frighten or terrify the opponent
- The desire to be reactive and not take the initiative
- Trying so hard to achieve the correct state of mind that you distract yourself.
For more information about mental performance as well as overall athletic performance enhancement check out our websites. The links are on the right of the page.
