We've all had that feeling at some point during our lives; you have that feeling like you may be looking for the exit to get out of a situation you weren't quite prepared for or it's your time to shine and you've suddenly forgotten everything you practiced ahead of time. Maybe it's that big presentation in class that you want to ace, that big game for your team, or maybe it's something that seems as simple as going up to a professor after class to ask a question about the lecture, but you're worried. There is worry that you are asking something that they already answered, they may judge you for your question, they may think you weren't paying attention in class. As you are having your internal battle with yourself, you hear another student ask the question you were just thinking and see the professor answer it without any judgement. You get your answer and go on your way, but you can't help think about that small event of your day and wonder why you worried about it so much.
It is in everyday or weekly situations like this where understanding the 'athlete mindset' can help you with any situation were you start to worry. The example of asking a professor a question doesn't seem much but it is a situation of negative small thought (NST). NST is a set of unhealthy beliefs that slowly start to eat away at mental strength, which is one aspects of an athlete mindset. They are said to be mentally strong individuals, people that no matter the situation can find resilience and confidence to be successful. There are three categories of NST:
1) Unhealthy beliefs about the self: you start telling yourself your not good enough, ask yourself why things are always happening to you, or compare yourself to someone you believe is more successful than yourself.
2) Unhealthy beliefs about others: you are scrolling through Facebook or Instagram at your friend's (or a complete stranger) feed and start to think they have better luck than you; they were given the golden key to life. You start to envy them and then start having negative thoughts about yourself.
3) Unhealthy beliefs about the world: you think that the world has something out for you, that it's not fair, and there is nothing you can do to change what you have because of your past experiences.
These small thoughts start to eat away of you, even though in the moment it seems like it's helping you get over those feelings. Slowly your mental strength starts to go down and you find that you are unable to cope with things that you used to be able to. The envy you've had of others and the world starts to hold you back. BUT, there are ways to combat that.
Aspects of the Athlete Mindset
There are many common aspects that high level athletes have that is considered the athlete mindset and these are all things that you are able to apply to your everyday life.
1) Motivation: This is achieved through goal setting but proper goal setting. Not the goal setting that you forget about the second you walk out of your boss' office or that you set at the New Year. Many athletes now use a SMARTER goal setting (after all who wants to be smart when they can be smarter) process which involves:
- Specific; goals are clear and understandable
- Measurable; goals are quantifiable to help track progress
- Action-oriented; goals require action. Goals without action are just distance dreams, so make them reality.
- Realistic; goals should be physiologically possible. If it hasn't been done before, do some research about the topic to make a realistic goal.
- Timebound; goals should have a timeline. No end date creates a someday and you will just push it off until tomorrow or the day after or the day after that....
- Ecological; goals are relevant to a big picture. Don't create a goal that will damage relationships and push away loved ones.
- Rewarding; goals should have a big WHY to it. This helps you decide what motivates you and you can use it to remind you why you need to keep going. Especially on those tough days.
2) Confidence: there are many ways to increase confidence here are the common themes seen in increasing confidence in the athletic world that can apply to everyday life:
- Increased knowledge through experience. You other possible routes for your work, different ways to study that are more applicable to you, different techniques in weight training. The more you experience a scenario or event, the knowledge you have about it and the less surprises will come about.
- Mental conditioning techniques. Learn how to use imagery and self-talk before your experiences. Imagery is the process of imagining yourself in the situation and going through the motions in a safe environment. Imagery is the process of thinking with the senses; thinking how a situation will sound, smell, feel. Self-talk is like an inner monologue that is encouraging (you're your own hype man).
-Feedback. This is one that some people are worried about hearing but it should be the aspect that you look forward to. Positive feedback helps you see what you are excelling at and also helps you see areas that need some work. It helps you grow. So, yes, it's great you studied two hours but you didn't really retain the information because you were also watching your favourite show/movie in the background.
However, confidence to a double edged sword. There are many examples showing that overconfidence can be a danger to performance .
3) Anxiety Management and Handling Pressures: we all get anxious about situations but we all handle the situation a little differently. However, common practices among athletes is the practice of relaxation techniques.
- Breathing: this seems something really simple but having a good breathing technique can calm you for those situations where you are a little above that mild anxiety. The technique is simple, inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, repeat. This forces your heart rate to go down, which as a whole helps to spell the anxiety about the event.
-Meditation: you've probably heard this before and for good reason. Meditation really does work and it can take some time to get it down right to get the benefits. Yo may also be doubting that high level athletes meditate in high anxiety situations. Take a look at this...
This is a NBA game 7 semi-final. As you hear the commentator say, LeBron has played a lot of minutes and this is the Heat's last time out. But LeBron isn't listening to his coaches as intently as the rest of the team. He's meditating and using breathing techniques. Miami would go onto the NBA finals and win the championship that year.
4) Creating Routine: Many athletes have something like a pre-game ritual and you can find many examples of these rituals (or routines) online. Some have to have a certain meal that day, they put on their equipment in a particular order, or the whole day from the moment they get up is their routine. Creating this routine helps them stay calm and centered before their games. It reduces brain wave activity in the areas of the brain that are responsible for performance anxiety and reduce error negativity.
What To Do
Now that you have the tools, putting them into practice is all that is left. Start by looking at your current habits and beliefs. There is at least one thing that is holding you back from being a better you. From there, make small changes to see how they are changing your life and assess steps from there.
And remember, you shouldn't be comparing yourself to the people around you.
"You should only be comparing yourself to the person you were yesterday." - Amy Morin,
Resources:
1. TedTalk; Mentally Strong by Amy Morin
2. TedTalk; Win the Game of Life by Jonathan Fader
3. TedTalk; Inside the Mind of A Champion by Martin Hagger