My Life is Vital™ - Believe You Can Succeed at Sports

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Believe You Can Succeed at Sports

Vital Healthcare Group

Did you ever get ready to kick, catch or throw—and suddenly, you caved? Maybe you were ready to run for the winning touchdown when a wave of anxiety overcame you, causing you to fumble and drop the ball. The problem with anxiety is that it can make you doubt yourself.

Learn some successful mind games

It’s normal to doubt your ability at sports, especially when you look around and everyone else seems to be a super athlete (they’re not!).

But you can learn a few mind games that will help you to stash those negative thoughts and believe in yourself and your ability – even at game time. All it takes is some cognitive restructuring. Cognitive restructuring means replacing negative, self-defeating thoughts with more optimistic, life-affirming beliefs. It can be done, too!

Athletes who think positively – succeed at sports

Athletes who have tried this—and who have learned to give positive statements to themselves (affirmations) throughout the day report feeling better about life, their abilities, and those around them. These statements should be uplifting or motivating thoughts, a short phrase, or saying that has meaning and power for you.

Pessimism makes you guarded

The problem is that pessimistic teens don’t think that things will work out for them. They are guarded in what they do and never take risks to achieve anything. It’s hard to succeed at sports or in life if you don’t believe in yourself.

Contrary to this, optimistic teens may be more likely to try new things like working out harder or making positive lifestyle changes. Simply believing in themselves can help them win in competition.

Here’s how to change negative thoughts

You can work on changing your negative thoughts by creating powerful statements you can use each day. Here’s how:

Select an aspect of your training or performance that’s a problem such as you give up too easily when the drills get tough, you are intimidated by other players, or you feel slighted by your coach.
Decide what you’d like to have happen or how you’d rather feel in training or performance such as being more positive, empowered, or confident.
Express this goal as a first-person, positive statement: Say, “I am strong and fast.” Or say, “I am an important member of the team.”
Repeat this statement many times throughout your day to help reverse negative thinking.

Positive self-talks help you deal with game stress

Here are some examples of affirmations that can help you get through any workout without letting negativity control your thoughts. Get in the habit of using positive statements frequently. Soon, you’ll find that your skills will improve and stressful situations at game time will not seem overwhelming.

I can do this.
I’m an incredible athlete and person.
I am focused at game time.
I am physically strong and healthy.
I am a mentally focused student and athlete.
I love my workouts and practice sessions.
I feel good about myself, my abilities and my future.