No matter how good physically your sporting heroes are, they couldn’t achieve what they do without the proper psychological approach.
Here are five top tips to help you think like an elite athlete:
1) Think positive
Negative thoughts such as “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t do this” have a knack of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. You need to keep a handle on negative thoughts, if a session isn’t going well don’t think “I’m not fast enough” but “my times are a little off, stop and breathe, reset and go for it.”
2) Be determined
Don’t just settle or think “I’ll do it tomorrow”. It’s important to push through when you’re feeling below par (unless you are ill or injured of course!) and not rest on your laurels. As former Olympic 100m champion Maurice Greene once said “To be number one, you have to train like you’re number two.”
3) Be Confident
On the day of competition, be confident about your chances of a good performance. There’s research that shows a positive relationship between confident body language and increases in testosterone and decreases in cortisol.
4) Don’t panic
Most athletes get nervous before a competition, it’s a normal response by the body. Many take this as the usual response and use it to sharpen their focus on the task at hand. It is important to keep yourself from getting too overexcited (as well as ensuring you are not un-motivated or underwhelmed by the experience). You can keep a handle on your excitement and panic levels through effective use of the next tip.
5) Visualise success
You can help prepare yourself for the big race day with visualisation. Imagine the way your event may pan out, include everything from the stadium around you to the sounds and smells as you step up to the plate. It sometimes helps to run through how you will react to something you don’t expect, such as a rival setting off stronger than you expected or coming back at you in the later stages of the race. Try and imagine how you will react to these events as well as it will help you remain calm on the day.
