The Power Of Positive Intention

"Relentless, repetitive self talk is what changes our self image."

- Denis Waitley

The Power of Intention

Yesterday, we discussed identify negative self talk. Negative self talk is the inner dialogue we have with ourselves. It can become so ingrained, we may not even hear ourselves saying it.

It’s these internal thoughts and comments we tell ourselves that lead to pre-performance anxiety / pre-performance jitters.

If you took time yesterday to take note of your Negative Self Talk (NST), 👏 you just took a step toward improving your mindset and overcoming NST.

🎯 Tips For Improving Self Talk

1. Be Positive

Positive statements lead to positive outcomes. Consistently making positive statements to yourself, be it in your head or out loud makes it believable.

So make it a habit to change a negative thought to a positive thought.

2. Believe It

Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes. The more you train your brain to lead with a positive thought or counter a negative thought, the more you wire your brain to be focused on what’s possible vs impossible.

3. Present Moment

Reinforce a positive statement with a positive action. For example, when a female volleyball player is serving, she says, “You’ve got this!” This reminds her that she has a strong serve, that she’s practiced a million times, and to stay focused on technique to aim where she wants the ball to go.

4. Problem Solve

When things go wrong, self talk is the reminder to stick to the game plan and to trust the process.

5. Create 1-2 positive phrases like:

a. “You’ve got this,” for the moments when you feel unsure of yourself.

b. “I am speed,” to remind you to play hard and play fast the whole game.

In the end, positive self talk is the key to staying focused, confidence, and motivated.

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"Your body hears everything your mind says."

- Naomi Judd

The power of intention. Self talk is the inner dialogue you have with yourself. The goal is to create self talk habits that help you perform your best, fuel your confidence, and make you excited to compete.

What happens when things start to unravel during performance?

Dr. Robin Vealey explains how thoughts become P3 or R3 based mindsets.

The following is taken from an article written by Sam Shweisky:

A golfer arrives 45 minutes late to competition due to heavy traffic and has less than 15 minutes to warm-up.

An athlete with the R3 mindset will respond in one of three ways:

🙄 1. Random: “I feel rushed and unfocused.”

😠 2. Reactive: “This is not fair!”

😤 3. Restrictive: “I can’t get ready to play this quickly.”

🧭 On the other hand, an athlete with a P3 mindset acts in one of the following ways:

🤔 1. Purposeful: “Focus on the most important things you need to get ready. Warm-up your shoulder and take a few good swings.”

🧐 2. Productive: “Focus on what you can control and get the most out of the limited warm-up.”

👍 3. Possibility: “Who knows, maybe a reduced warm up will make you play better!”

🚨 Be aware of which R3 response you use and what P3 mindset is most helpful for you in those moments.

💡 Don’t wait till a performance to figure this out. Prepare by practicing these situations and learning from the challenges you’ve faced in past.