The Power of Optimistic Thinking When You Play Sports

We hear from youth sports parents all the time at the Mental Toughness Team, who worry their kids "use such negative self talk" or "beat them up". I think this is a significant issue mothers and fathers need to address.

Gloomy thoughts or beliefs don't just "go away" without perspective and retraining our brains. I want to share with you the importance of using positive thoughts in sports and some tools and techniques you can use to help out your son or daughter after they choke or screw up.

The Power of Optimistic Thinking When You Play Sports

Youth sport parents and youth athletes often fail to notice the significant influence that upbeat beliefs and thoughts have on both playing the game and in their daily activities. We're all human and accidents happen - the key is not to let unhelpful thinking turn into a big monster in the room that blocks all of the amazing things you're great at doing.I'm going to give you some strategies on positive thinking and how to keep nonconstructive thoughts from getting in your way and stop you from being your very best - in your schoolwork, your athletics and in every aspect of your life.

Negativity Can Spread If You Are Not Careful

Have you ever run into people who are in a negative mood and when you were done talking with them, you found yourself very upset? Then your own pessimistic feelings have an effect on those people. The chain keeps getting longer, unless you look back and sees that one bad communication can result in many people with downbeat mindsets.

Let's apply that to your sports. If you make a mistake or someone scores a few points off of you, yes, that's upsetting! However, there's no reason to hurt somebody's feelings or beat you up. Playing sports for kids is healthy and teaches them how to be competitive, but they're supposed to have fun too. The simplest way for the team to fall apart is for one person to be full of negativity. Soon, that terrible attitude will affect others and playing will no longer be fun for anyone.

When you are face negativity, you need to figure out how to stop it how to do it fast. I wanted to give you a few ideas on how to keep negativity off the field, so you can give attention to the more important things.

Turning Unconstructive Thoughts into Optimistic Ones

Everyone has difficult days every once in awhile. Not everyone makes the final goal or the best grades without hard work and lots of studying. You can end up beating yourself up when things don't go the way you hoped or you say something you will regret. This is doubt and fear, and as I just mentioned, it's actually worse than the thing that made you feel down in the first place.

Think of negativity as a high-pressure game. If someone throws you some negativity, you get to decide if you send it off to others and let your bad feelings affect them or you can work on your thoughts and turn things around. If negative events and words make you feel sad or worried, you will eventually wind up filled with stress and doubts. What you have to understand is that there is nothing so awful that you cannot use positive thinking to turn it around.

If you choke during your next big event or game, reflect on what went down and what you can do to improve next time. If you get a bad grade, figure out what you can do differently and how to look at the problem differently.

The key is not to dwell on unpleasant things - its never productive. Using positive thinking and self talk as well as learning from your mistakes, will actually increase your chances for success on the field and in every aspect of your life.

Don't Be Afraid To Seek Out Help from Friends and Teachers

Believe me we are all our own worst critics. Most people find themselves thinking negatively, way before anyone else even says anything negative to you. Get with your team and your coach and ask them to go over with you what you did in your match or during practice that was not working, so you are prepared the next time. If you're worried or stressed about something, talk about it with your teachers and family. They want you to be successful and be your best.

Don't forget your family, your friends and your teammates care about you and the success of the team depends on the accomplishments of everyone involved. They know that negative thinking doesn't help anyone and can bring the whole team down.

Ideally, as often as possible, you want to put forth your most optimistic thoughts. This will motivate you and positively affect everyone around you.