Self-Talk

There are a couple of important features that distinguish self-talk:

(a) self-talk is directed toward the self and not toward others

(b) it can occur either out loud or internally 

Self-talk is “verbalizations or statements addressed to the self”

The more reps we get in and the more we practice something the more confident we feel usually right?

We must constantly exercise our self-talk to build up our confidence.

What are some negative thoughts that you have experienced playing your sport?

Think of these and begin to notice when you engage in this type of thinking.

• Researchers have found that around 77% of everything we think is negative and counterproductive. Our toughest critic is ourselves.

It is important that we take these negative self-talk statements and turn them into a positive.

So for those examples you came up with, how would you turn those to positive self-talk statements?

Another thing to keep in mind is that our brains are not able to comprehend negative commands. “Don’t” statements such as “don’t miss this shot” and “don’t turnover the ball” are the easiest ways that we can force ourselves into thinking about the negative outcome.

• For example: If I say, “don’t think of a pink elephant” what happened? You thought of a pink elephant.

We need to be implementing positive commands in our brains about what we want to accomplish and what we want to feel, not what we don’t want to do. 

I challenge you to work on noticing when you engage in negative self-talk and immediately change it to a positive. It takes practice, but it will help your performance.