Sports Psychology: Letting Go of Mistakes
Mistakes or errors occur every day in sports and life, but many athletes stifle their own performance because they simply can't let go of past mistakes.
Missing shots, double faulting, and losing an important game happen often in the sports world and become a thorn in many athlete's mind. In some cases these thoughts continue for the remainder of the competition because the athlete can't stop dwelling on the error or missed opportunity.
I am sure you have made some mistakes in your sports career that you were unable to quickly forget. You carried a critical mistake with you for most the competition. Either you did not enjoy your day, or were too busy beating yourself up to help yourself or your team.
Dwelling on errors is the number one distraction for athletes today. You cannot play in the present moment (a quality of the zone), if your mind is stuck on a missed opportunity or faulty performance.
Rarely do athletes use mistakes or anger to help them perform better, but it does happen. You watch Tiger Woods get angry on the golf course, but he is able to channel his frustration to make it work for him instead of against him. Tiger becomes more focused and determined to make up for the error by refocusing his mind in the present moment.
Why does the mind sometimes want to stay glued to past errors? Making mistakes does not match what you expected of yourself. You want better for yourself and think you should be a better performer. In some instances, you may display your anger or disappointment to others who are watching because you want show them you are actually a better athlete.
Once you begin to dwell on an error and beat yourself up, it is very hard to stop the cycle of negativity. You will try to avoid committing future errors, which is not a great mindset for focusing in the present moment.
The best athletes in the world use mistakes to help them grow and become better athletes. They become more focused, more determined, and are able to let go of mistakes quickly so it does not affect them for several plays or shots to come.
Learn my entire system for letting go of errors by visiting The Composed Athlete.
Missing shots, double faulting, and losing an important game happen often in the sports world and become a thorn in many athlete's mind. In some cases these thoughts continue for the remainder of the competition because the athlete can't stop dwelling on the error or missed opportunity.
I am sure you have made some mistakes in your sports career that you were unable to quickly forget. You carried a critical mistake with you for most the competition. Either you did not enjoy your day, or were too busy beating yourself up to help yourself or your team.
Dwelling on errors is the number one distraction for athletes today. You cannot play in the present moment (a quality of the zone), if your mind is stuck on a missed opportunity or faulty performance.
Rarely do athletes use mistakes or anger to help them perform better, but it does happen. You watch Tiger Woods get angry on the golf course, but he is able to channel his frustration to make it work for him instead of against him. Tiger becomes more focused and determined to make up for the error by refocusing his mind in the present moment.
Why does the mind sometimes want to stay glued to past errors? Making mistakes does not match what you expected of yourself. You want better for yourself and think you should be a better performer. In some instances, you may display your anger or disappointment to others who are watching because you want show them you are actually a better athlete.
Once you begin to dwell on an error and beat yourself up, it is very hard to stop the cycle of negativity. You will try to avoid committing future errors, which is not a great mindset for focusing in the present moment.
The best athletes in the world use mistakes to help them grow and become better athletes. They become more focused, more determined, and are able to let go of mistakes quickly so it does not affect them for several plays or shots to come.
Learn my entire system for letting go of errors by visiting The Composed Athlete.
Labels: composure in sports, dwelling on errors, sports psychology
posted by Dr. Patrick Cohn at
10:28 AM
1 Comments:
I feel kids are too hard on themselves because they are taught at a very young age of how important it is too win. I feel that youth sports should be more focused on having fun, making friends, and learning a new sport. I found this video clip of a ski team of young kids from the Vail Mountain Resort. I feel this video expresses how all kids should approach sports, not just skiing. It shows the raw emotion and passion these kids have for skiing and shows they can really get into it and be passionate but not be caught up on winning and getting down on themselves. We could all learn from this video what it is truly like to have fun.
check it out it really makes you realize what sports are all about.
http://www.sportzu.tv/video/vail-devo
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