Sports Anxiety

Sports Anxiety is that dreaded state experienced by every athlete at one time or another. The pain of losing because of one’s own mindset is perhaps the most frustrating loss of all. It disrupts the peak performance of players all the way from seasoned professionals to the youngest of children.

If you have ever felt the anxious heartbeats, the nervous stomach, or flinching muscles of performance anxiety, than cheer up, you are not alone. The good news is that you can turn your sport’s anxiety into pure power, and unleash your true potential.

Let’s uncover some of the mystery behind sports anxiety and create a plan for peak performance under any pressure. If you are an athlete with mindset mastery, than you will find almost nothing is impossible for you.

Studies show that the athlete’s self image is the biggest determiner in how he/she processes pressure. For athletes who are convinced of their ability to win, the stimulus provides exciting opportunity. For athletes who doubt themselves, the same triggers create distress and anxiety.

So, the best athletes prepare by strengthening their self image through three activators: 1. their imagination – seeing themselves perform perfectly 2. their words – speaking positively to themselves, “I am tougher than I’ve ever been.” 3. their ability to relax or hype up their body (arousal control).

Many athletes also don’t consistently practice mental conditioning for their sport. Instead they try to wait till the last minute to try to focus and reach a new level of performance. This lack of discipline often results in sports anxiety when they face an old stressor.

Try to practice visualization and relaxation at least 20 -60 minutes each day around your sport. When it comes to your self-talk, speak consistently all of the time. This would be something you do silently, as most people around you don’t want to hear how great you are as much as they want to see it!

When you prepare for pressure and practice consistently, then ultimately you will prevail at game time. Remember that you prevail and win by focusing on the things you can control, as opposed to the things you can’t. Practice every imaginable scenario, and know how you would choose to respond. It helps to have a role model to emulate, to shorten your own learning curve. Watch someone who controls their attitude and form.

So the next time you feel your game disrupted through sports anxiety, use it as a trigger to enter the winning state of mind.