Motivation and Sports Performance

Self Talk
Self Talk refers to conversations we have with ourselves. These conversations can help us to monitor or direct our thoughts and actions but also can hinder our efforts. There are two types of Self Talk– positive and negative.
Positive Self Talk -
Professional-level athletes are often faced with physical obstacles, i.e., physical pain, poor conditions, strong opponents, fatigue. The only way an athlete can succeed in the face of these difficulties is to have powerful self belief and great determination. Positive self-talk is one tool that athletes use to achieve their best in competition. You have to focus on what is important and do not let any negative thought in your mind. Try to be calm and imagine positive situations, think about things, like, ‘this is my moment’, ‘this is what I’ve been trying to achieve for so long’ or ‘this is why I’ve been training so hard’. The key to positive self talk is concentration what has to be increased with regular practice. Small competitions are very good to prepare yourself for bigger ones.
Negative Self Talk
Negative Self Talk leads to frustration, anxiety, lowered effort and poor attention. The negative thoughts, like, ‘That’s it I’ve blown the match now’ or ‘I can’t do it because that guy is bigger than me’ are leading to affect your chances of winning the match. Always try to avoid every negative thought because from smaller ones can come devastating ones. Everything is in your hands but don’t try to seem to look like you don’t need any help, don’t be afraid to listen to your coach or persons who have been through the same situations. Advice is perfect for mind-blowing situations.
I have been through lots of competitions and not only and I’ve been interfaced with negative self talk caused anxiety. I had bad temper and I wanted to get through problems like this by myself but it didn’t succeed. Next time I tried to listen to my coach and it really helped me. The coach told me to repeat good thoughts and images in my mind also some breathing techniques helped too. From that moment I always listen to my coach and now I know how to get rid of negative self talk.
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