Mental Preparation for Adolescents Before the Big Game, Meet, or Race
It’s the week before a big game, meet, or race. What can you do mentally prepare? This post focuses on adolescents, but many of the ideas are applicable to adult athletes as well. Additionally, there are so many more to consider. This post just has three to get you started.
Introducing Self-Compassion Within a Team
It is no secret that I believe in the power of self-compassion with it comes to sport and performance psychology. Many times the question that is asked is if self-compassion hampers the competitive edge. The answer is no. Self-compassion does not mean that you can't push yourself and acknowledge your mistakes. Rather, it means that you do not tear yourself down when you are pushing yourself. It is counterproductive to tear yourself down when you need to build self-efficacy and self-confidence.
DNFing an Event or Race
The dreaded DNF, Did Not Finish! Why is this person writing about DNFing? Because we need to talk about it so that instead of dreading the DNF we understand how to use it to our advantage.
The Nature of Fear
When we can understand the signs of fear, we can then befriend our fear, thank it, and then invite courage and self-compassion to the party so that we can act from that place instead of the fearful place.
The Sting and Learning Lessons of Rejection
Let’s face it, rejection hurts and stings! It is something that many would prefer to go without. There are so many facets when talking about rejection because it is such a complex topic.
Stop Apologizing
Stop apologizing. Yes, that is correct. Stop apologizing. How often do we hear those words? Probably, not often. Now that everyone is taken off guard, it is time to explain. Stop apologizing for being you! This type of apologizing has an incredibly sneaky way of showing up, and when they do, and we give into them, we chip away at our belief in ourselves.
Success and Failure: What is Your View?
For most people, success and failure conjure up some pretty specific images of what each is to them. Chances are these images have many influences on how they were created over time. Family may have helped craft these definitions and images. Culture and society may have some strong influence. Life experiences may also have something to say. And this list could continue, as there are many potential influences on how we define success and failure. Once we internalize these influences, they feel like they become part of us. Some much so that more often than not, we can’t tell what is actually ours and what we internalized from other sources.