What is the One Word You Should Never Say to Yourself?
What would happen if I should ask you NOT to think of a pink elephant? That’s right try as hard as you can just don’t think of a pink elephant. So what are you thinking about now… That’s right a pink elephant.
You must be wondering why this is important to you enhancing your performance in sport or any area of your life? What has a pink elephant to do with you performing better? This may just be one of the most important elements of how your mind influences your performance you can imagine.
Have you ever said to yourself whatever I do just don’t drop the ball or don’t be afraid, or don’t mess up? And then what happens next… Yes you guessed it exactly what you did NOT want to happen, happens.
Ever wonder why?
Your subconscious mind does not understand the negation (the don’t). It has the opposite effect of what you want. Therefore when you make a statement like; “don’t mess up” when you remove the don’t it becomes “mess up”, exactly the opposite to what you want. The “don’t” also only tells you what you do NOT want and not what you really want.
Three easy steps:
- Therefore when you become aware of the “don’t” in your daily thinking you can do something about it. That’s right your focus is directly connected with your thoughts and where the mind goes the body will follow.
- Whenever you find yourself using “don’t” ask yourself, if you “don’t” want to mess up, what do you really want instead. Ask yourself, what is the opposite of the “don’t”.
- The key is to replace the negative thoughts or focus on what you want to do. This keeps your focus on the future rather than past failures or things you need to avoid doing in the future. When you focus on what you want you have something to aim at and it is easier to hit the target.
Knowing what your “don’t’ s” are will get you to what you do want!
Welcome to Training Your Mind for Sports Performance – Providing training for coaches, managers, high level performers and keen amateurs who wish to learn the techniques to improve their mental approach to sport.
Article compiled by Bennie Louw the SportMindCoach
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