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The Power of Rewiring Your Inner Dialogue
It’s time to buy into a comprehensive approach that encompasses the mental, emotional, and psychological dimensions of the game. At the core of this approach lies the power of rewiring your inner dialogue – a process that can ignite a cascade of positive changes, both on and off the court.
1 Challenge Negative Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors
Thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all intertwine. These all impact each other. Every top athlete has unproductive moments. Their secret of success lies in their quick resetting routine. Top players don’t let their emotion get in the way of their performance.
2 Record Yourself to Better Understand Your Self-Talk
Typically, evidence is skewed when you know you’re being recorded. But even so, record yourself in practice matches with your cell phone by the back fence. Record conversations with your team of coaches and parents. By listening to your approach, it brings awareness to your dialogue.
3 Refrain from Comparisons
Our insecurities arise when we view our peers rising above us in the UTR ratings and tournament victories. The reality is that comparing yourself to others doesn’t increase your status just your anxiety. It’s wise to only compare yourself to the athlete you were last week. Week in-week out, be better that person…and you’ll be just fine.
4 Habit Shifting and Habit Stacking
Habit shifting is the ability to identify problematic habits and make the appropriate changes. Once you stop negativity, and begin to adopt better choices, habit stacking works well because it builds new habits onto your new, current habits. An example: After a productive lesson, stay at the site for an additional 30 minutes and hit a basket of serves.
Everyone has an internal dialogue that runs all the time. The top-level athletes are more experienced at manipulating it. Most of us tend to focus on the past (‘What should have been’) and the future (‘What if?‘). By shifting your thoughts to present time awareness, you’ll be back in controlling what you can control.
