How does a mental routine help one’s confidence?
The use of routines is one of the most powerful mental tools and athlete can employ. Pressure is real, and letting the mind wander can be detrimental to an athlete. Start with the end in mind like a pilot, who must perform a preflight inspection prior to take off to ensure safe travel for his passengers. A tourist who wants to maximize there enjoyment of a vacation will often plan lodging, meals and entertainment months ahead of time. An athlete who desires to achieve peak performance must be confident. Mental routines improve confidence as they increase the consistency of an athletes thinking. Thinking about the past, future, or things outside of their control distracts the athlete from the task at hand. Instead of focusing on the external, mental routines reduce anxiety by keeping an individual on the right track and allow one to maximize their time. The familiarity improves confidence by reminding athletes they have done this before. Athletes who do not have a routine are setting themselves up for failure!
Coach Nelson serves as a high school football coach who is pursuing his doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology. He has worked for division 1 athletic departments, professional sport franchises, a Fortune 100 Company and has won numerous awards for his LEADership abilities.
His mission is to positively influence the world through Love, Effort, Attitude and Discipline (#LEAD). To learn more about the LEAD philosophy follow him on Twitter Levi Nelson or reach out via email at rln10@zips.uakron.edu He’d love to learn about or help you in your journey!
Today’s Blog was inspired by:
Woolsey, C. L., LeNoir, C. S., Williams, R. D., et al. (2015). Using Positive Motivation Techniques to Help People Gain Control of Eating Behaviors: A Clinical Review on Building Confidence and Routines for a Sustainable Body Transformation. Topics in Integrated Health Care. 6(2) S.
Covey, S. R. (1986). Seven habits of highly effective people. Provo, UT: Steven R. Covey & Associates.
McCann, S., PhD. (n.d.). Routines, rituals, and performing under pressure. Olympic Coach, 20(2), 14–15.
Burton, D., & Raedeke, T. D. (2008). Sport psychology for coaches. Leeds: Human Kinetics.
Taylor, J. (2012). Dr. Jim Taylor. Aoyagi, M. W., & Poczwardowski, A. (Eds.), Expert Approaches to Sport Psychology (pp.217–234). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.
