Sports Psychology and the art of feeling good about yourself....or not
Former Member
Confession time: I struggle with a committee in my head (and I've tried to ignore 'em) that tells me things like...."you suck"..."you'll never get any better", blah blah blah.
Now that BillS has encouraged me to delete that dreaded work from my lexicon, I am sure that another one will pop up.
I know this is kind of a rant....but how does one really feel good about themselves as a swimmer yet avoid being delusional? Seriously....how do you keep a balance of positive thinking while being able to honestly regard how you swim and what needs to change/improve?
What do you guys do? Is it good coaching, simply having a solid self esteem in the first place....?? Is it simply that people carry their low self esteem into the water...if so, how do you overcome that...?
Thoughts?? What in the world is sports psychology anyway?
falls in the area of self image and self talk
people have mental patterns they return to like trails they walk
people do carry their low self esteem into the water
I've trained with self loathing low self esteemed world record holders.
We become what we think about.
Thoughts become things.
When negative thoughts appear,
let them drift by or replace them with something constructive.
the NLP swish technique might work.
If you want, you have all the controls to your mind.
You can turn the volume up or down.
You can make images bright or dim.
You can move the screen far or near.
You can visualize yourself from your own set of eyes or as a narrator would from the side.
You may not be able to stop what your subconscious throws at you, but you can decide what to do with it once it does.
and you can work to imprint new mental habit patterns to become the you you wanna be.
Ande
Originally posted by Fishgrrl
Confession time: I struggle with a committee in my head (and I've tried to ignore 'em) that tells me things like...."you suck"..."you'll never get any better", blah blah blah.
Now that BillS has encouraged me to delete that dreaded work from my lexicon, I am sure that another one will pop up.
I know this is kind of a rant....but how does one really feel good about themselves as a swimmer yet avoid being delusional? Seriously....how do you keep a balance of positive thinking while being able to honestly regard how you swim and what needs to change/improve?
What do you guys do? Is it good coaching, simply having a solid self esteem in the first place....?? Is it simply that people carry their low self esteem into the water...if so, how do you overcome that...?
Thoughts?? What in the world is sports psychology anyway?
Speak what you want not what you are.
Keep it to yourself and you won't have to worry about others thinking you're delusional.
Of course everyone has "bad" moments. It's how they handle them that helps them to rebound easily and quicker than most.
In your question you even regress by stating:
"I am sure that another one will pop up."
Statements like that will just drag you back into negative thinking.
Speak what you want not what you are. Speak what you want not what you are.
Jim
Kari,
I feel like I'm following you from thread to thread.
Get yourself to some of our workouts, there's no time to feel negative or depressed- too much fun and hard work going on. Kerry is a great cheerleader. He doesn't always know the exact right thing to say, but you know he is ALWAYS THERE and believes in you. He can be very matter of fact which I admire and need to hear!
I love to go to workouts where I didn't want to go- those are ALWAYS my best ones. The other 90% of the time I give myself a challenge during a set. Usually they are time challenges (I'll do this 25 fly on :14, etc..) However, other times they are physical challenges. I'll only breathe 3 times on this 50; I'll make sure I anchor my right arm before I pull; there are a million things to choose from.
I usually make the timed goals I set or come within a second, so I feel pretty good. I've learned a lot about technique from Kerry so in my mind I feel like I know where I can "pick up a tenth" here or there: "if I just put my hand here" "if I hold that streamline a little longer"- and the physical challenges hurt a lot (breath holding especially) and if I make it I think of it like I just made another deposit in the swimming bank, and when I'm hurting in a race I'll remember "hey, you've done this before, you can do it".
Just some ramblings, sorry.
Moral: It's YOUR shoulder and your swimming, think good things and make small goals that you will achieve; build confidence and then move on. I've seen you swim and know you can do whatever you put your mind to. No, it won't be easy, but the good fight is never easy. Come swim with us!!!!
Positive self talk is great,as is positive visualization. People sometimes still get caught in negative self talk. when that happens remember IT DOES'NT MEAN ANY THING.(Actually it means something related to the past and if you want to analyse it alone or with a therapist fine, but I mean in the here and now,it is meaningless.) I find it often helps people to think "there I go again" when they start to think negative and then let it go and start over.
I often had that or similiar asked of me when I was coaching racewalkers. The answer I often gave was this:
Get lost in the process of your training.
Reasons:
You will achieve your best results from training; not from worrying about arbitrary goals or how you stack up against everyone else.
We set goals for ourselves, not realizing that they usually become barriers at the same time. "I'd be happy to swim XXX for YYY" means that you've probably just created your own Everest. Just swim and blow right through the barriers.
If you keep one eye on your "goal" you will only have one eye to find the path to that goal.
-LBJ
P.S. I urge you to pick up a copy of the book "Zen in the Martial Arts". There are several chapters that would be most instructive here. It's a short and accessible book.
For me, I just enjoy the moment and focus on the feel of the water and let the improvement come. I love that feeling I get from a good workout. The improvement will come, just don't expect it to happen over night. It requires consistency of training 4 to 5 days a week. After a few months you will see improvement. Plus, you will reall notice it if you swim with a group.
A saying that always helps me change my percpective when I am down or frustrated with a situation is: "You can get bitter or better." When I say that to myself, I generally end up thinking about how silly it was for me to get bitter over the situation. Sometimes I respond by laughing at myself and thinking that I will stay bitter for a little longer and then I will get better.
Good Luck, I truely hope things get better for you. I have been in that depressed state and I know it is not fun.
Hook'em
Blue
