Positive self talk that actually works for your athlete
I talk a lot about how we can tell ourselves these positive things and be positive, especially in those really hard moments when we just want to tell ourselves crappy things.
In my program and in weekly Mindset Lessons, I am challenging my girls to practice their positive self-talk. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Duh, practice makes perfect right?!
Here are some ways that you can help your daughter work on positive self-talk…
- Opinions Exercise: Where you write down someone else’s negative opinion of you or your own negative opinion of yourself, CROSS THAT CRAP OUT, then rewrite your own powerful, positive opinion that actually matters because remember, your opinion matters the most!
- Affirmations: These are STRONG, CONFIDENT, POWERFUL “I am ___________” statements.
My own example:
💗 I am a strong, beautiful, competitive Crossfit athlete.
💗 I am an intellectual, smart, resilient entrepreneur that owns her OWN business empowering girl athletes to build self-confidence and rock it out there in competition.
💗 I am a badass.
💗 I am a caring, loving, thoughtful, and kind human being.
💗 I am a child of God.
💗 I am abundant when it comes to money and finances.
💗 I am brave and courageous when doing new things.
Guess what, this is HARD WORK! The last thing I want to do when I suck at something is tell myself…
👉 “You’ve got this, Paige.”
👉 “It’s okay, go get the next one.”
😡😡😡
It’s OKAY. It’s okay to feel pissed off, frustrated, mad, sad, whatever it is. This just means your daughter CARES. This just means your athlete is PASSIONATE. This just means she wants to be BETTER, the BEST! That’s all it means.
So, instead of just being positive, rah rah, I love me after we mess up, we are going to help your daughter be PRODUCTIVE.
Here’s what it looks like…
I’m up to bat. I have some really good cuts. I foul some off. I feel like I’m on it. But, then I swing and miss a change up. Ugh.
At first, I’m pissed because I went up there and I failed. I didn’t get the hit. And I’m frustrated, angry, annoyed, all the negative thoughts and feelings, right?!
Remember, that’s okay. This is the time to take a time out and be PRODUCTIVE.
What I mean is have some self-reflection, teach your daughter to ask herself these things after messing up…
✅ “What did I do well?”
So, I felt like my hands were on point and on time when fouling those pitches off.
✅ “What did I not do so well?”
I didn’t read the changeup.
✅ “What did I learn from that?”
Next time I’ll expect the changeup better.
✅ “How do I get better moving forward?”
I’m going to be aggressive and make connections in the first few pitches.
Then… MOVE FORWARD!
Remind your daughter that the best athletes are the ones that can overcome failure and move forward the fastest. They are THE BEST OF THE BEST. Let’s help your athlete get better at overcoming failures by using positive self talk from day to day, game to game, play to play, moment to moment.
Want some support? Grab the weekly Mindset Lesson for her to work on EXACTLY THIS! 🎉
💕 Paige
