STEP 3: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Too often, athletes will ask the wrong kind of questions. Questions like “why am I a failure?” – “why do I make so many mistakes?” – “why am I not picking up the game faster?” – “why am I not as good as the other players?”. These kind of questions only make them feel worse and will contribute to a variety of negative thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The athletes are asking questions that will basically set themselves up for failure.
Being mentally prepared to play your best game is all about asking questions that set yourself up for success. You want to ask questions that put you into a positive, productive and proactive state of mind. Questions like “what am I doing today to become a better player?” – “how do I support my teammates?” – “what can I learn from my coaches?” – “what are my goals for the season?” – “how do I maintain my composure in the game?”. The right kind of questions are questions that keep your focus on what you are doing to develop your skills and become a better player.
STEP 4: EMBRACE YOUR STRENGTHS
There are athletes who are always preoccupied with their weaknesses or limitations. At every practice or game, you will hear them talking about how they are not big enough, fast enough, smart enough or just plain good enough to become a better player. And their concern or worries about what they can’t do are actually holding them back from recognizing and using what personal strengths they already possess. These athletes are not giving themselves the opportunity to see how they can use these strengths to find a greater sense of empowerment and enjoyment in playing sports.
As an athlete, you have different personal strengths. They could best strengths from other parts of your life that you never thought of using in sports. Maybe, it’s your intelligence, compassion, intensity, enthusiasm, leadership skills, ability to communicate with others or your perseverance. You want to embrace those strengths, and find ways to use them in developing your skills and serving the greater good.
STEP 8: STAY IN THE MOMENT
When an athlete is playing in a game, it’s very easy to lose track of where he is, to see what’s happening and to make smart split-second decisions. The athlete could be thinking about a mistake he made five minutes ago or thinking about who will win the game. Given that there are so many things that can pull his attention or focus away from the game, he needs to continuously bring himself back to the present moment. If the athlete can’t do this, he will often find himself out of position, making mistakes and possibly being called for a foul or penalty.
To be a successful athlete, you have to know how to stay in the moment. It is only in the present moment that you can have any positive impact or influence on the game. You want to be able to clearly see what that moment offers you and the potential opportunity to make a good play. It’s keeping your mind on right now so you can effectively respond and make the best decision in that moment of the game. One simple and easy approach is to use two verbal cues during a game – “check” (prompting you to look for what the moment is offering you) and “choose” (prompting you to see the best option to make a play).
STEP 9: REFRAME THE NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES
How often do athletes take a difficult or challenging experience and can only think of the negative consequences from that experience? Maybe, it’s a tough loss, being injured and going through rehab or not playing up to their expectations. They not only think about all the different things that went wrong but will often replay that experience in their minds for days, weeks and even months. And then they use that experience to convince themselves that they can’t play the game and will never succeed. They’ve chosen to let that experience hold them back from being the kind of athlete they dreamt of becoming.
Being mentally prepared to play your best game is when you have learned to take any negative experience and put it into a positive frame of reference. It’s about finding the meaning or lesson in what you’ve experienced, using it to motivate yourself and figuring out how to use that experience to become mentally stronger and smarter. You realize that if you don’t reframe your negative experiences, the way you see and interpret those experiences will only disable your mental focus and destroy your mental fortitude.
STEP 11: TAKE A DEEP BREATH
Have you ever noticed that when you are running around in a game, and especially when you’re feeling nervous and anxious, your breathing gets shallow, and your brain and body start to slow down. You have a difficult time catching your second wind and keeping your focus on the game.
Playing your best game requires a certain amount of oxygen so that your brain can effectively function, and your body can keep up with the physical and emotional demands of the game. Find those moments in the game when you can simply take a deep breath for about five seconds. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. When you take a deep breath, you can bring yourself back to the present moment, slow the game down and compose yourself. And, if you want to, say to yourself – “I’m (inhale) ok (exhale)”.