What Mental Training Techniques Can Help An Athlete To Succeed?

2 Pages 408 Words

Positive self-talk: Positive self-talk can be the most convincing message that we ever receive. Unfortunately, the abilities of some individuals are clouded by negative self-input. As strange as it may seem, many of the most important messages we receive come from our inner conversations with ourselves, not from others. When negative self-talk is the result of our perceptions of what we feel that the outside world is telling us it is not surprising when athletic performance deteriorates. Negative self-talk leads to negative personal feelings, which leads to low self-esteem leading to poor performance. Self-confidence is the key to success in sport. This is developed through positive self-communication. Unfortunately, student athlete who use performance enhancing drugs lose valuable opportunities to develop self-confidence from achieving results without chemical assistance. When an individual relies more and more on the drug he/she may tend to rely less on the self. Positive self-talk is an effective method to help individuals to avoid drugs.One technique for dealing with negative self-talk is called "thought-stoppage." This technique allows a student athlete to screen out negative, unwanted thought patterns. This technique can promote greater mental toughness and increase the ability of an individual to respond positively to adversity during difficult times. The key is to develop the habit of using positive self-talk. Thought-stoppage can be an effective deterrent to the thoughts that influence using drugs in sport. The mind begins to establish positive rationale for not using drugs. Self-talk promotes mental toughness that can be a life-long legacy.
Imagery: Imagery is a technique that can help a student athlete to have an ideal picture of a desired performance. According to Davies and West (1991), it can be used as a powerful tool to enhance performance, and often acts as a corrective technique, energizer, practical aid, problem sol...