I love watching Rodger Federer play tennis and seeing the confidence and calmness he brings to his game. Who wouldn’t want that every day?
A personal story.
When I was competing as a pole-vaulter I hit a mental block. I was too scared to plant the pole so I started seeing a sport psychologist to overcome the fear. Not only did he help me conquer it but I also learned SO MUCH MORE about how to be a confident, calm athlete. I still use these techniques EVERY SINGLE DAY.
A quick lesson.
One lesson that I learned early on and still apply today was to create a Persona (almost like an actor would) and then get into character. So instead of Honorata walking onto the track or into the boardroom, it’s Persona X (you can give him/her a name). A relaxed and fearless super-athlete. To activate that Persona I used posture and breath extrinsically, and self-talk intrinsically as well as some other mental skills. It did not matter that that wasn’t the real me (yet), what you saw (and how I began to feel) was Calm and Confident – just like Federer.
You don’t need to be a professional athlete to master the skills of sport psychology, if you want to feel that way try the above technique, and keep working on your mental fitness as much as your body.
At the very least do these things:
- Plan out your year and set up processes to fulfil your goals
- Learn how to Visualize effectively
- Work on your Self-talk everyday
There is more of course, so stay tuned as we bring you tips from top sport psychologists around the world. Stick with us, athlete, and your mind will get stronger, guaranteed.
Honorata (CoFounder Sportmi)
