While trying to keep this post short and to the point let me say that the Athletic Mindset is merely a way to approach your training that encompasses both a sense of awe and a sense of purpose. There have been innumerable passages dedicated to the creation of a positive mindset, learning to discipline the mind and body, or improving your mental attitude. Rather than rehash what you MUST do to achieve optimal performance I'd rather encourage the athlete to look at their sport as a vessel for expression of their best self. We are often at our best when we relinquish control and expectation of an outcome and simply do.
Another point is attached to the concept of the flow state as described byMihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his seminal book "Optimal Experience: Psychological Studies of Flow in Consciousness. Many, if not most, of us can identify with the feeling of being in the flow, the trick is to make it part of each workout or competition.
The concept of expertise. The term "expert" is tossed about in the daily vernacular of our culture without regard to the true nature of the idea, nor the strident efforts necessary to cultivate an expertise. Malcom Gladwell, among others, has written about "This idea - that excellence at a complex task requires a critical, minimum level of practice - surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is a magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours."
Taken together these three ideas can form a foundation for ones approach to sport and the practice of sport. My philosophy is that when you can attach these precepts to your sporting life, and perhaps your life in general, you are opening the door to your potential.
More than often, people repeat in their minds negative sentences and statements concerning the situations and events in their lives, and consequently bring upon themselves undesirable situations. Such sentences and statements work both ways, to build or destroy. It is the way we use them that determines whether they are going to bring good or harmful results.
Affirmations work in the same manner as creative visualization. The repeated words build mental images and scenes in the mind, and help to focus on the aim, object or situation one wants to achieve or create. Frequent repetitions affect the subconscious mind, which in turn reshapes and affects the way one thinks, acts and behaves.
The conscious mind, the mind you think with, starts this process, and then the subconscious mind takes charge. This means that the most frequent thoughts that pass through your mind, ultimately affect your life and your destiny.
Affirmations work like commands that are given to a computer. They influence us, other people, events and circumstances. It might seem strange to you, but they do also influence the people we meet, our circumstances and the events we encounter.
Sometimes they work fast, but more often they need time. Repeating positive affirmations a few minutes, and then thinking negatively, neutralizes the effects of the positive words. You have to refuse negative thoughts, otherwise you will not attain positive results.
We mentally repeat negative statements, without even being aware of the process. We use them when we tell ourselves that we cannot do something, that we are too lazy, or when we believe we are going to fail. The subconscious mind always accepts and follows what we tell it, whether it is good or bad for us, so why not choose only positive statements?
How to Repeat Affirmations
It is advisable to repeat affirmations that are not too long, as they are easier to remember. You can repeat them any-time your mind is not engaged in something in particular, such as while travelling in a bus or a train, waiting in line, walking etc, but do not affirm while driving or crossing a street. You may also repeat them in special sessions of about ten minutes each, several times a day.
There should be no physical, emotional or mental tension while repeating them. The stronger the concentration, the more faith you have in what you are doing, the more feelings you put into the act, the stronger and faster will be the results.
It is very important to choose only positive affirmations. If for example you desire to lose weight, do not say, "I am not fat, I am losing weight." By saying this sentence you are repeating to your subconscious mind that you are fat. The word "losing" also evokes negative images. It is better to say, "My body has an athletic form, and weighs the right and healthy weight". Such words evoke positive images in the mind.
It is important to affirm in the present tense, not the future tense. Saying: "I will be rich", means that you intend to be rich one day, in the indefinite future. You are actually telling yourself that some day you will be rich, never now. It is better and more effective to say, and also feel, "I am rich now", and the subconscious mind will work overtime to make this happen now, in the present.
As to results, sometimes they may come fast, and at other times might take more time to manifest. Getting results depends on how much time, energy, faith and feelings you invest in repeating your affirmations, on the strength of your desire and on how big or small is your goal.
By using the power of affirmations you state what you want to be true in your life. You see reality, as you want it to be. For a while, you ignore your current circumstances and your doubts, and concentrate on a different reality.
Are Your Negative Thoughts Sabotaging You? 5 Tips to Turn it All Around
Are you fed up with how things keep turning out in your life? Have you ever thought that you might be sabotaging your own efforts to make things better? Here are 5 turn-around tips to help make positive life changes.
Scientific and medical research has demonstrated repeatedly that a positive mental outlook is key to successful outcomes. The trouble is we all tend to think negatively; in-fact we are practically hard wired to explore the downside of things as a natural protective measure.
It is easy for this natural instinct to become overpowering and it is important to maintain a healthy positive outlook to counter-balance it. Otherwise, fear and anxiety can start to escalate and have a disproportionate influence on our emotions and may cause the subconscious to sabotage any attempts you make to move forward with your life. People who experience this often describe themselves as feeling 'stuck'.
Here are five techniques to help squash that negative thinking and nourish positive thoughts and self-image.
Become More Self-Aware - Try to be actively aware of what you are thinking, saying and doing. Challenge underlying beliefs and attitudes if you find that you are not being positive or self-nurturing. Maintaining self-awareness can be quite hard to do initially, but the more you practice it, the easier and more effective it becomes.
Turn it Around - If you find yourself being negative, check yourself. Replace the thought, words or deed with something positive. Find the positive in everything you can. You will notice a difference. Your new positive outlook will generate positive reactions from those around you.
Rejoice in the Good Things - Do not focus on what you do not have, focus instead on the wonderful things you have around you right now. By focussing on the good things, you will benefit from a key universal truth, "What you focus on grows." Try this each evening before going to bed: write out 5 good things about yourself or about what happened that day. It does not have to be big... maybe it was the kindness of someone making you a cup of coffee or maybe the fact that you are a talented musician... it can be anything.
Take Some Time - Take a little time out each week, 30 minutes will do. Put up the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign and just spend that time thinking about your week, about your feelings and reactions. Use this time to get back in touch with your inner-self. Knowing what you really want is one of the most important steps to achieving it. Using this time well will help sort out your feelings, desires and priorities.
Use Positive Affirmations - Choose an issue that is a priority for you and use positive affirmations to help keep you positive and on track.
If you use these techniques consistently for 30 days, you will experience profound positive changes. Anyone will benefit from these techniques. So why wait? Go for it!
Emile Coue was a French psychologist born in the mid 19th century and although this name probably means nothing to you, I'd be surprised if you hadn't come across his favourite phrase "Every day in every way I'm getting better and better". As far as affirmations go, you probably couldn't choose a better phrase for general self-improvement.
Affirmations have long been recognized as a powerful tool in positive thinking and self-improvement. Affirmations are positive statements that describe a desired situation, and which are repeated many times, to impress the subconscious mind and trigger it into positive action. Affirmations are clear and simple statements expressed as positively as possible in the present tense.
Short affirmations are easy to say and easy to remember - it's no good having such a long-winded affirmation that you lose track of it half way through even though it covers a multitude of positive intention. To a great extent, the simpler the better.
One that I use every day is simply "Everything is happening perfectly". I use this as a statement of gratitude when everything is actually going well and also when things aren't quite right, to get things back on track again. If nothing else, it tends to have a calming effect which is never a bad thing.
Affirmations really do make a difference, but it's difficult to predict how long it will take until you start seeing some positive changes. It's fundamentally not a question of time but more a question of how accepting of change you can be. Everyone is different and a lot depends on what area of your belief system you are working on. If you're trying to strengthen a belief or habit you are already comfortable with, then you may see changes almost immediately, but if you are working on a area where there is a lot of resistance (where what you are affirming is really at odds with what your mind believes), then this will be more gradual and need some concerted effort. No matter what aspect of life you're working on or who you are, affirmations will not only make you feel better about yourself, they can start to manifest real change in your life.
There's no shortage of information around on using affirmations but if you're interested in a high-tech version of getting the best out of affirmations, visualisation and goal setting you might want to take a look at Sculptor3 affirmations software . This application isn't something that would suit everyone, but if you enjoy spending time at your computer and would like to have a structure to making positive changes in your life, the 10 minute daily program might be just what you need!
