Having Confidence in Your Skills
Mental blocks are often the most frustrating hurdles for an athlete to encounter.
The thing that makes mental blocks so challenging and irritating is that you know how to perform a skill… You know you have the ability to perform the skill and… You know you have successfully performed the skill in the past.
To illustrate mental blocks, let’s first examine an example outside of sports… Writer’s block is a mental block common among writers. A writer can be tapping away on their laptop, totally in a groove, then all of a sudden, be at a lost for a word…
The more the writer searches for the next word, the harder it is to find the exact word they are looking for. So the writer decides to close the laptop, walk away and, within minutes, the words pop into the writer’s head.
The same thing happens for athletes… mental blocks and slumps get in the way for athletes who are often ill-equipped to handle these hurdles.
When athletes face a mental block, the common response is to figure it out… tinker with technique, over-work, over-analyze and overthink, which just serve to embed the mental block further into the mind of the athlete.
Unlike the writer, an athlete can’t walk away in the middle of a competition, so what’s the solution to overcoming an athletic mental block?
The short answer is STOP overthinking what you are doing or what you should be doing.
Instead of trying to FIGURE THINGS OUT, just trust in your abilities and your training. After all, you successfully performed these skills in the past, so get out of your head and let your body perform like you trained it.
Mental blocks affect athletes at every level…
For example, after missing a couple seasons due to an injury, Indianapolis Colts Quarterback, Andrew Luck had a hard time coming back due to a “mental block” he was facing.
Luck was unable to throw a regulation size football during his on-going rehab, to which he stated was due to a “mental block.” He was seen throwing a smaller sized football that is used for high school games to work through his mental block.
Analyzing and overhauling your technique is not the best strategy to break through a mental block. That is merely a physical response to a mental block.
The best plan of attack to deal with mental blocks is to apply mental strategies (relaxation, self-talk, emotional management, focus, trust).
Mental strategies can not only help you break through blocks but also strengthen your mental game, preventing some mental blocks from popping up in the future.
Overcoming Mental Blocks in Competition:
Mental blocks can lead to anxiety and frustration for athletes, but they are often caused by a lack of trust in your skills.
Lack of trust in your skills can come from fear of injury, fear of failure, or trying to be too perfect.
First, what do you fear might happen if you can’t perform well in competition? For example, are you worried about embarrassment or getting benched?
Next, you have to address the fear head on to help you get back into having a present focus. You do this by uncovering any irrational beliefs that keep you stuck and improving your trust skill.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- What Blocks Trust and Confidence in Competition?
- How to Grow Competition Confidence
- How Preparation Boosts Confidence
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The Confident Athlete
“The Confident Athlete” consists of 2 audio programs that include 14 days of confidence fueling exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal needs.
Let me help you put a stop to the confidence leak. You can learn to have greater levels of confidence in competition than you do in practice by identifying the specific ways you undermine your own confidence and how to convert your practice confidence into COMPETITIVE CONFIDENCE.
“The Confident Athlete” is a ground-breaking system to teach you how to think like a champion and have ultimate self-confidence every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course. The confident athletes was developed for any athlete – junior to professional –that wants to gain confidence. However, coaches and sports parents can learn how to teach others to perform with ultimate confidence. Use my program if you want to bust a slump or just wanting higher or more consistent levels of self-confidence.