Power of the Mind

As athletes we are focused on preparing our bodies for competitions, but what about our minds? Preparing your minds with confidence for matches can be equally as important.

Game days are some of the best days for athletes. It can be so gratifying when you see all of your hard work and preparation pay off... But some days it isn't that easy. Many of us can be as fit and physically ready as possible, but our minds aren't in the right place to perform. Maintaining a confident mindset is difficult. That's why it is so important to train your mind just as much as your body.

From what I've experienced, your mindset can make or break your performance.

I have always struggled with my mentality. I have had low self esteem and am my hardest critic. One mistake can sometimes shut down my whole system. Confidence definitely hasn't come easy for me, but I've learned to train myself to trust in my abilities. During my college career, I tried almost everything. Before games I have prayed, journaled, meditated, read books, listened to loud angry music, and sat by myself in silence. Each time I would find myself feeling discouraged and anxious once I hit the turf.

My problem was that I needed to find a way to help my confidence grow.

One day, my coach gave me a book to read about building a strong mentality as an athlete. It was written by a sports psychologist that has dealt with some of the biggest college athletes. He explained that many of us have a hard time with confidence because we associate our whole identity as an athlete... and I definitely did. So that was my first step (I mentioned this in my previous blog post), realizing that I am much more than an athlete. From there, I realized that I needed to stop putting so much pressure on myself. Like I said earlier, I am my biggest critic and I spend a lot of my time telling myself that I need to play better because I know I can. Sometimes I would sit in the locker room and repeatedly say things to myself like "don't mess up," "don't miss on a break-away," "don't have a crappy touch."

What I read next from that book changed my whole way of thinking.

I was doing it all wrong. I was spending my time before a game already beating myself down for things I didn't do. I was holding onto past mistakes I made and telling myself that I better not do them again. I know we tend to do this to ourselves a lot... But think about how you would feel if another person told you these things before a game: You'd feel like they don't believe in you. So we definitely should avoid telling ourselves these things as well. We need to be our own biggest supporters! It is okay to be your own critic sometimes, but try to give yourself some slack. Believe in yourself. Start saying to yourself positive things by erasing the "don't," and replacing it with "do" verbs. I began to tell myself during games things like, "today let's have some shots that are on target," "let's focus on having good touches," "let's make sure we give 100% on every run." Just those small word changes can give yourself a little increase in positivity, and remind yourself that you are good enough to succeed.

While it is important to give yourself positive goals, it also helps to have an inspiration.

During my senior year of college soccer, we were on an airplane headed to a game in Texas. We had complimentary TV's so I decided to try to find some soccer to watch. The women's Canadian national team came on, and I decided that I would spend my flight watching them. While I watched, I thought about how good they looked and how I strived to be like them as players. The flight gave me time to think about what they did differently than me to become so successful, and the biggest difference between how they played versus how I played was that they were FEARLESS. They would go into tackles without hesitation and would quickly attack the opposing team. I knew that I had a problem with defending because I was hesitant with my pressure as a forward, but once I saw Canada's outside forward being so fearless in her defending I knew that I needed to improve.

Watching them play inspired me to change how I played. The next day, we had a game and I told myself to play like that Canadian forward. I'm not lying when I say that after that game, my coaches told me that something in me changed since I had such a defensively sound game. This event made me realize that I not only need to encourage myself, but study others that are successful and try to use them as an example of how I can play.

Remember to give yourself goals, but be okay with mistakes.

Once we give ourselves positive encouragement and examples of how we want to play, we need to remember that it won't always be perfect. Even the best athletes make mistakes, but they don't let them hinder their performance. Sometimes, the best athletes use their mistakes as fuel to become better. Beating ourselves down is easy to do, but if we work on switching our mindset, we can use it to our advantage. When I make mistakes, I have one second afterwards to decide if I want to hang my head or work extremely hard to make it up. If we can get ourselves in the habit of always choosing the hard work after mistakes, we can then channel our adrenaline to positive energy that can help us gain the ball back or make the next play better.

Athletes' competitive nature can result in a lot of disappointment when there are mistakes made...

So not only should you work on maintaining a positive mindset for yourselves, but realize that it can benefit the mentality of the team as well. Every athlete has their own way of beating themselves down, so make sure that you keep that in mind when a teammate makes a mistake. While you practice an encouraging mentality to boost your own confidence, try to encourage your teammates when you think they are in times of need as well. A positive attitude can be contagious, and if you are encouraging others you might end up getting some encouragement in return whenever you mess up. When we are so caught up in our own mindsets, we may feel like we are alone during competitions... But sometimes what helps your struggling confidence a little bit more is the support of the ones beside you. If you can learn to believe in yourself, express to others that you believe in them as well. You may be surprised about the impact you may have on your team as a whole.

So... Let's start here.

I'm going to be the first one to say that I believe in you. I know that you can work extra hard physically, and will be able to strengthen yourself mentally. I understand that it can get hard at times and you will make mistakes, but I know that you will thrive if you choose to use it as fuel to improve in the future. Study some of the biggest and best players, and make goals based on what you see. Always remember that mistakes are okay, and they are completely natural.

You can do this.

Until next time, athletes.