Mindset Monday 9/13/10- The 4 Rules of Sport Psychology

I created a simple set of 4 basic rules of Sport Psychology to make things as easy for people as possible.

(1) One thing at a time
(2) Keep it simple
(3) Write it down
(4) When in doubt, don't think, ACT.

(1) One thing at a time: There is usually alot going on in our minds at once (both consciously and unconsciously). When trying to correct your mindset, there is a tendency to come up with many things we wish to improve. This will only overwhelm you. Make a list of a few things you wish to improve mentally, and then try to prioritize your most important 3 things. Then, spend time on ONE of these at a time.

(2) Keep it simple: "Rome was not built in a day." Do not overwhelm yourself by trying to do too much right away. Notice in #1 I did not say "make sure you pick the most important 3 things." I said TRY. Do not beat yourself up if you later realize there is something else you would like to work on. Just move forward with what you have for now. Take it slow. If you are persistent and consistent, little modifications will change your life.

(3) Write it down: The mind is abstract, you must make it concrete. Did you ever notice you will have a good idea or insight and later forget it after you get distracted by something small? This is how the mind works. We could have great ideas and flashes of insight, but soon forget them. So it is important to write down your thoughts and ideas as soon as you can after having them. For an athlete, this means right after competition (not before or during) writing down your pre-competition and/or during competition mindset. Whether you perform well or poorly, you want to remember what was going on in your mind so you can work on it by making necessary corrections and also reminding yourself of good thoughts you had. This also goes for writing down your goals and your action plan to reach them. Have it written down- this has been shown to increase compliance and effort.

(4) When in doubt, don't think, ACT: How many times did you ever think you should get a work out in, only to sit around and eventually talk yourself out of it? Sometimes we talk to ourselves so much about the annoyance or misery of a task for so long, by the time we finish these thoughts, we would have already been halfway done with the workout or task. Don't over think or over analyze tasks, training, or actions, just do them. Get them done with (not going through the motions), but get them done. Many people find this interesting advice from a Sport Psychology Expert, but the mastery of Performance Mentality lies in action, often analysis paralyzes us. Like Nike says, just do it.

(5!) Consult with a Sport Psychology Expert: even people with great knowledge of this material could still benefit from an experts point of view. I was very familiar with these concepts as a competitor, but still benefited greatly from meeting with my teams Sport Psychologist. This is because we are often blinded by some of our own flaws and it is difficult to assess ourselves without being a little bias. Bottom line- take advantage of the experts around you.

Gene Zannetti
Peak Performance Specialist
One-on-One Consultation and Motivational Speaking
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
Visit My Blog- http://genezannetti.blogspot.com/