Positive Self Talk
“Oh my god. My match is about to start. What if I don’t do well? What if my position isn’t set? What if I’m not able to get into a rhythm? I don’t think this match is going to go well.” How many of you have had such negative thoughts just pop up in your mind right before your shooting match? Many shooters believe that such negative thoughts won’t affect the outcome of their match but it does have a lasting effect on your mind and our match as well. As we have discussed in our introduction to mental training, Self-Talk is an integral part of it.
As many of you may or may not have noticed that there is a constant dialogue running inside of our heads. We may not realise but this very dialogue has a lot of affect on our behaviour and mood. It can therefore be used to improve our attitude and mood through the active practice of positive self-talk. In this article we will be talking about a few practices you can do to initiate self-talk within your daily lives.
- Cutting Negative People Out – The attitude of people around you will have a direct impact on your attitude. Surround yourself with people full of positivity and joy. If you cannot cut the negative people out of your life completely try spending less time with them. A support system filled with positive people will carry you a long way as you’ll feel more confident and brave in your practice and matches.
- Be and Feel Grateful – An excellent method to create positive self-talk is to recognise the things that are going well in your life. If you find things in your daily life that you are grateful for you will have a more positive outlook on life and a better attitude as well. As a result you will be able to create positive self-talk.
- Don’t Compare Yourself to Others – If you have a tendency to compare yourself to others then this is a trait you need to get rid of. When you are in a habit of constantly comparing your deficiencies to the strengths of others you are unconsciously bringing yourself down. It is always very easy to find others who are better than you however it is important to concentrate on yourself. Instead of comparing yourself to others you can take their achievements positively and aim to achieve the same strengths resulting in your success.
- Use Positive Words – If we use negative words with others we will tend to have negative thoughts. Negative thoughts will therefore lead to negative self-talk. What comes out of your mouth can be positive or negative, that is up to you. Positivity breeds positivity and negativity breeds negativity. So let’s choose positivity, always.
By staying positive and talking positively about yourself during a match can be very helpful to a shooter.
Read the next lessons to learn more. Don’t miss reading Effects of Meditation on Shooting.