A
MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF PEAK
PERFORMANCE SPORTS
Issue 83 ................................................................. February 4, 2008
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine
Welcome to Sports Insights Magazine! We are pleased to bring you practical, cutting-edge sports psychology and mental training tips to improve your mindset and performance. We thank you for being a subscriber of Sports Insights Magazine!
If you enjoy our free mental toughness newsletter, please forward it to other athletes and coaches. Click here to subscribe to Sports Insights Magazine!
NEW DVD! The Focused Team DVD Program! After months of tweaking, The Focused Team is so powerful that it’s virtually the same as having me conduct a live (in person) mental training seminar for your team. Includes everything a coach or team leader needs to effortlessly boost his or her teams focusing skills and here is the kicker…. in just 7 short sessions! Read more...
New "Confident Athlete" Program Coming Soon. After receiving a lot of feedback from everyone who has purchased a Confident Athlete Series program, the overwhelming consensus is for a new program is: The Relaxed Athlete. We are working hard on adding this program to the existing Confident Athlete Series. Say tuned...
New Program Helps Perfectionist Athletes! "Helping Young Athletes Kick Perfectionism and Fear of Failure" launches Friday, February 8. Preview the program now and get on the priority notification list.
"Dramatic Improvement in my Level of Play!"
“I first purchased The Confident Athlete to see how the program went and immediately saw results. I then purchased the rest of The Confident Athlete Series and have noticed a dramatic improvement in my level of play or should I say consistency. I currently play NCAA Division I baseball for Lamar University, and even my coaches have noticed a change in the way that I approach the game. My attitude and confidence at the plate. It has also helped me with the fact that even the greatest hitters in baseball fail 70% of the time. It has also helped me reach a new level of focus. I am able to get into that zone. Thank you for helping in my continuing goal to mental toughness.”
~Tylor PrudhommeGet the Entire Confident Athlete Series - Save $50 Plus Free Shipping!
Why Social Approval is a Major Catalyst for Fear of Failure
By Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.
Are you or your athletes’ potential held back by fear of failure? Do you or your athletes worry too much about what others think? Do you practice harder than anyone, but still can’t get it done in competition?
The culprit: fear of failure.
Fear of failure limits most athletes that work with me one-on-one. Fear of failure (and perfectionism) causes a vicious cycle of working harder in practice, not performing up to one’s ability in games, losing confidence, and working even harder to make up for imperfection and mistakes. Not the best cycle to be wrapped up in.
Do you work harder and harder in practice, but only become more frustrated with a lack of improvement or results? Do you feel like you are constantly banging your head against an imaginary wall or worry and failure? These are both indicators that fear of failure is holding you back.
However, many athletes don’t know how to overcome this…. Why?
What’s most tangible for athletes? The physical part of their game. Many athletes think it’s far easier to work harder than it is to address the mental game blocks that hold them back. In other words, it is a lot easier to make a change in technique before you look at your own attitude and self-sabotaging beliefs.
Several mental game challenges are related to fear of failure, such as low self-confidence, worry about making mistakes, fear of rejection or embarrassment, and the list goes on. I call it a fear-driven mindset in The Fearless Athlete CD program.
I think the biggest downside of fear of failure is an intense avoidance mindset. If you are in an avoidance mindset, you strive to avoid pain instead of striving to be successful.
What is a fear-driven mindset? A fear-driven mindset causes you to focus on the wrong stuff. You think about not making mistakes. You avoid getting benched. You try not to screw up a lead. You try not to miss a shot. You don’t want to embarrass yourself at the end of the game. You get the idea...
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Want to Become a Mental Game Coach? Enroll in Our Unique
Mental Game Coaching Professional Certification Program!
Apply for the 2008 Summer 10-Week Course!
____________________________________________In a recent video I produced for The Ultimate Sports Parent, I discuss the relationship between fear of failure and perfectionism. Here is the page to watch the video:
http://www.youthsportspsychology.com/video1.php
Fear of failure is closely tied to perfectionism, but it’s also linked to social approval as well. What do I mean by social approval? Below I list some common fear-driven mindsets. You will notice that many of these mindsets are related to worry about disappointing others (or losing approval points):
- “I feel like I need to be perfect in today’s game to gain acceptance from my parents.”
- “I can’t stand making mistakes and having my parents pick apart my game when I am done.”
- “If I don’t finish top three in the race, I will embarrass myself and look like a fool.”
- “My dad thinks that I will embarrass him if I screw up today and lose the match.”
- “Everyone expects me to win today. What if I don’t win? Will they still like me?"
- “I need to bring home a win and pay my dad back for all the money he spends on my racing.”
- “If I don’t perform my best today, my mom will stop driving me to practices and games because she thinks it’s a waste of time.”
In the examples above, the athlete becomes so worried about losing social recognition or approval that he or she focuses on avoiding failure. It’s a huge problem in sports and society today and it’s the catalyst for fear of failure.
What’s the solution? One of the goals when working with my personal coaching students is to help them adopt a success-driven mindset. But you first have to identify what fear-driven mindsets paralyze you or the athletes you coach – as discussed above.
The next step is to learn how to become more success-driven. Often, this can be as simple as setting more positively stated goals (and banishing expectations). Here is an example:
- Fear-driven mindset: I can’t stand making mistakes and having my parents pick apart my game after the game.”
- Success-driven mindset: “No one is perfect. I should focus today on what I want to achieve--simple process goals such as making good passes.”
The goal is to be aware when fear of failure strikes and you are embracing an avoidance mindset. Then have specific strategies you can employ that will help you change into a success-driven mindset!
I am launching a new program for coaches, sports parents, and young athletes titled, “Helping Young Athletes Kick Perfectionism and Fear of Failure.”
You can preview my new program be watching a new video on the relationship between fear of failure and perfectionism. While you are on the page, get on the priority notification list so you don’t miss the release of my new program:
"When is the Hard Work Going to Pay Off?"
What separates great players from average players is the ability to have resiliency in tough times - when the hard work is not paying off right way. The top athletes continue to work hard and have faith even when their immediate results are not paying off.
"Sometimes when you're putting the work in it just seems so, so hard, and you never know when that work's going to pay off. When you're going through tough moments, you never know when you're going to have good moments.''
~ Maria Sharapova
The Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
This week's sports psychology podcast is about when to start mental training with young athletes. This podcast helps youth coaches and sports parents understand when they can begin mental training with their sports kids. Dr. Cohn discusses the importance and value of mental training for youth sports kids...Show me the Sports Psychology Podcast of the Month!
The Golf Psychology Podcast of the Month!
Today's golf psychology session helps golfers understand how to get mentally prepared for a tournament. Dr. Cohn explains that there are two types of mental preparation before a round. The first is preparing a game plan and thinking about your strategy and tactics. The second type of mental preparation is to have a mental game plan and feel mentally prepared...
"Pressure is a Privilege!"
"Champions take chances, and pressure is a privilege.''
~Text message from Billy Jean King to Sharapova prior to Australian Open finals
"My Son Is Frozen at the Plate. Help!"
Baseball Parent:
My son is a better than average hitter. He is 9. Last season he was on a team where the coached yelled a lot. It was his first season in the minors so the rules were new to him. He was yelled at quite a bit for not understanding the signs on stealing half way until the catcher commits or fake bunting to trick the pitcher. At mid season, he froze at the plate hoping for a walk and has lost his confidence. How can I get it back for this season?
The Focused Team: A Step-by-Step Plan for Coaching Athletes to Zone Concentration-in Just 7 Days! NEW!
The Focused Team: A Step-by-Step Plan for Coaching Athletes
to Zone Concentration-in Just 7 Days! Peaksports.com new DVD and workbook program in The Focused Team Series. Ideal for coaches and mental game coaches, The Focused Team includes absolutely everything you need to help lead your team to zone concentration effortlessly - from helping your team members buy into mental training to assessing their focus - to follow up assessments. Become a peaksports member and receive 25% off retail.Read more about The Focused Team DVD Program!
Buy The Focused Team Program Now!
Peaksports Members please login in by using this page to access the "Member Only" link to save 25%.
Not a peaksports member yet? Go demo our New Online Mental Training Site at Peaksports!
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Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is the President and founder of Peak Performance Sports of Orlando, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Virginia in 1991, and founded Peak Performance Sports in 1994. Dr. Cohn is an author, speaker and one of the nation's leading mental game experts. His coaching programs instill confidence, composure and effective mental strategies that enable athletes and teams to reach their performance goals. Dr. Cohn has helped athletes from a variety of sports backgrounds (both amateurs and professionals) identify and develop the mindset needed to achieve peak performance. World-class golfers, runners, shooters and auto racers, as well as motocross, tennis, baseball, softball, football and hockey players, are among those who have benefited from his mental game coaching and training.
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NEW! The
Confident Athlete Series by Peak Performance Sports brings
you the latest cutting-edge mental training strategies
in a practical step-by-step 14-day achievement plan. Each
program consists of 2 Audio CDs and an easy to
follow workbook to help you apply the mental strategies.
Perfect for any competitive athlete or team coach! |
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teamwork
:: confidence :: focus :: composure |
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2008 Peak Performance Sports, LLC 7380 Sand Lake Rd. PMB 5012,
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