Talk to Yourself Like You Would Talk to Your Teammate

How often do we hear athletes encouraging their teammates? “Keep going,” “You’ve got this,” and “Try again” are simple, yet effective ways of encouraging each other not to quit and not to let a mistake or mishap affect the rest of our performance. So, why do we not talk to ourselves in the same way?

We regularly use negative language and criticism towards ourselves in the heat of the moment when we make a mistake, in the wake of a missed opportunity or when we are about to take an important shot; “Don’t miss,” and “that’s not good enough” are self-talk examples which can affect our confidence and our attitude during a sporting performance. Introducing positive self-talk allows us to overcome negative thoughts about our sporting abilities, leaving us more focused and relaxed and less anxious. By rephrasing our self-talk and reframing how we reflect on performances we can boost confidence, increase motivation, and enhance our performance.

So, the next time you go to take a penalty, or someone passes you during a race, try reframing your self-talk: “I’m going to score this” instead of “don’t miss.”

“I can catch them” instead of “I’m going too slow.”

Tips on improving your self -talk: 1. Start off simple – create a go-to phrase to encourage yourself ahead of and during performances. Something as simple as “you’ve got this” or “keep going” can be an effective way to start practicing positive self-talk.

2. Develop your words – when you have developed the habit of speaking positively to yourself, try coming up with more sentences and phrases that can be used throughout your performance, for example, “I’ve done this before and succeeded,” and “it’s okay there is still time for me to pull this back.”

3. Visualise – use words and phrases that create a visualisation in your mind’s eye. “I can hit this over” conjures a positive image of you successfully executing a specific task, reinforcing self-belief, and enhancing success.