As an athlete, your mindset can have a great impact on your performance. The way you think, especially in high-pressure moments, can make the difference between a personal best and falling short. Positive self-talk is a mental performance skill that helps you build confidence, stay focused, and overcome challenges.
Why Positive Self-Talk Matters
The thoughts you have during practices and competitions can impact how you feel, in turn shaping your actions. For example, when your inner voice is supportive and encouraging, you’re more likely to feel motivated and perform at your best. Negative self-talk, on the other hand, can lead to greater feelings of self-doubt and hesitation, which can hurt your performance.
Practicing positive self-talk gives you a mental edge by keeping you focused on what’s important in the moment and reinforcing belief in your abilities.
3 Ways Positive Self-Talk Boosts Your Game
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Builds Confidence
Repeating affirming phrases reminds you of your strengths and what you CAN do and prepares you to take on challenges with belief in your abilities. Confidence is key to making bold, game-changing moves.
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Increases Resilience
Mistakes are inevitable in sports and how you respond to them matters. Positive self-talk helps you bounce back quickly, turning setbacks into learning opportunities instead of letting them derail your performance.
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Improves Focus
Encouraging phrases like “lock in, you’ve got this” keep your mind centered on the task at hand rather than being distracted by doubts, nerves, or external pressure. This allows you to stay in the zone when it matters most.
Simple Ways to Start Using Positive Self-Talk
Get your thoughts to work FOR you rather than AGAINST you. You can start by identifying a phrase that already inspires you, like “I am strong and capable.” This is a positive affirmation you can repeat daily, especially before games.
Whenever a negative thought pops up replace it by putting a positive spin on it. For example, instead of “I’ll never get this right,” say, “I’m improving every time I try.” This process of catching the negative thought, checking it against reality, and changing it to a positive thought is called the catch, check, change strategy and is very useful when you need to flip the script on your self-talk.
Finally develop a set of short yet powerful phrases you can use during crunch times. Phrases like “stay calm”, “I’ve got this” and “one play at a time” keeps you grounded in the present and helps you maintain your confidence.
Positive self-talk is more than just feel-good advice—it is a proven skill to enhance your mental performance and athletic success. By practicing daily, you’ll develop a stronger, more confident mindset that empowers you to rise to any challenge.
To help you flip the script on your self-talk we have put together a useful worksheet that you can use today to help you change the script on your self-talk!
Keep winning! 💬💪
