Self-talk

One of the simplest concepts to understand in sports psychology is positive self talk. However it is also one of the hardest skills to master.

So often I receive the question...Am I crazy if I talk to myself??  My answer...Not necessarily :)

The reality is that all day long, the vast majority of people have a running dialogue with themselves. If you actually stop and listen to these messages, you may wonder how you accomplish anything at all. How many times in a given day do you find yourself mentally rehearsing the worst possible outcome, tearing yourself down, laughing at yourself or telling yourself you can’t do something, or it's too hard?

Getting a handle on our self talk is one of the hardest things many of us will attempt to do, whether we play sports or not.  For an athlete, negative internal messages and thoughts are among the biggest contributors to pre-competition jitters and performance anxiety.

So how can we reduce these negative messages? In sports psychology, the goal is to replace the negative self talk with more positive messages.


An example of negative self-talk would be an athlete who tells themself "I'm too small, I'm not strong enough, I'll never hit the ball," etc.  That athlete needs to replace those statements with, "I have worked hard for this, I am a gifted hitter, I will succeed, I have an amazing glove, quick feet" etc.   While this may not seem like it can work, over time and with repetition an athlete can develop a new habit of thinking positive statements and thoughts and expect a more positive outcome. It is this connection between the words and the belief that is the ultimate goal of this technique.  I love the statement by Mohammed Ali where he said he was the greatest even before he knew he was.  That is the point!  So often people look at me like I'm crazy for telling them to say positive things about themselves even if they don't believe it YET or it is not true.  It is somewhat a self-fulfilling prophecy.  You may not be a great hitter yet, but if you tell yourself over and over that you are - I am confident you will improve!

Another important factor of positive self talk is that it must be possible and believable. Getting a hit in a game is a very real possibility for most players, but hitting 3 homeruns in a game is not very likely at all.  It is important for the self talk to be believable at some level.

Research supports the theory that an athlete who continually practices positive self talk will improve his or her sports performance. Succumbing to negative self talk is a sure way to reduce performance and sports success.

Here are some steps to help you start developing a more positive self-talk habit

Choose a "mantra"

To get started with creating more positive self talk, choose one or two mantras you can use during your training. This could be a simple affirmation, such as "I feel strong," or "Go, Go, Go," or another simple, positive phrase you can repeat over and over.

Practice multiple scenarios

Once you have developed the habit of repeating this phrase during practice to the point where it is automatic, start expanding the dialogue so that you have familiar and comfortable statements for a variety of situations during your sport. For example, if you are fielding a grounder, you might say, "I am a wall, nothing gets by me," or "I’ve done this a million time before".  If you miss the ball you can say, "It's not over yet, find a way to cover and communicate!! Don’t let up."

Create a positive mental image or visualization

The phrases and words you choose should be those that you can immediately call up and create a visual picture of yourself doing exactly what you say. The image along with the words are a powerful combination that creates a positive message tied to a belief.