The popularity of sport psychology, both as an academic discipline and an applied practice, has grown substantially over the past two decades. Many athletes and coaches would agree on the importance of being mentally prepared prior to an athletic competition and also maintain that particular mindset during a competitive contest. We believe that if we are mentally preparing in the right way the outcome of the competition will be better. The tricky questions is then what the right mindset and attitude is when we want to out perform ourselves.
Positive mindset will put athletes in the perfect flow. “Flow” is a state of mind – achieved when athletes feel completely engaged in their performance, lose their perception of time, concentrate on the moment without distraction, and, perform at extremely high levels. Greater optimism = better athletic flow. Optimism correlates with healthy practices and good daily choices – such as daily habits in respect to sleep and recreation, as well as physical activity. Athletes able to attain higher positive states of mind were less at risk for injury. A high level of optimism is associated with good functioning of the immune system. A strong immune system are helpful in coping with sports-related stress. Greater pessimism correlates with a less positive mental attitude. Working on being more optimistic during your athletic career could make you more optimistic & have less pessimism later on in life.
Help manage expectations through active thinking. It is normal for athletes to feel a certain amount of confusion and anxiety during times of uncertainty. Negative thoughts and feelings occur to everyone in a challenging situation, but it’s important to avoid paying too much attention to them. Athletes will need help to stay on top of these feelings by getting reassured that it’s okay to accept that they cannot always be in control of different situations.
Practising visualisation as an athlete is important. Athletes could create a positive mindset by thinking about their future actions in different circumstances; it can help them keep up with daily activities and deal with the feeling that something is missing. Keep your eye on the future should create a more positive daily feeling that focusing too much on the past.
Nevertheless, recent research has shown that many athletes, coaches, and sporting administrators are still quite reluctant to seek out the services of a qualified sport psychologist, even if they believe it could help. One of the primary reasons for this hesitation appears to be a lack of understanding about the process and the mechanisms by which these mental skills affect performance.
https://olympics.com/athlete365/well-being/how-to-stay-positive/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22207118/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8265749/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20935240/