I have been asked constantly for sports psychology tips, strategies or interventions that can be introduced very quickly and have an immediate impact. This is a very difficult thing to do because we are all individual and have specific idiosyncracies along with different needs at different times.
However, the beauty of sports psychology is that there are common problems with all sports performers and certain interventions can apply across the board to differing degrees. For instance, if an athlete or business person does not set written goals and pursue them then there is an immediate impact if a system is installed. Whereas if someone wants to turn the mental toughness switch on overnight then I am afraid that will only follow after a detailed plan is introduced for more the medium or long term.
So my tip for today is a concentration tip. In sports psychology everything can be lost if we are unable to concentrate at the right moment. We lose the point, miss the corner coming over or have a car crash if we are a driver. So what I want you to do is to create some verbal cues such as the word “Focus” and some visual ones such as bouncing the ball or looking at the laces on your trainers. Add some physical ones such as taking a deep deliberate breath between points. These should be used whenever you need to re-centre yourself back into the moment following disturbance or periods of deep concentration and you wish to rid yourself of internal or external distractions.
Sports psychology introduced by mental skills training will build mental toughness and deliver peak performance.
Geoff