A Proven Way to Overcome Stress, Anxiety, Fear and Overwhelm in Sport

I recently surveyed my community and asked: "what is the number 1 thing that would maximise your sports performance?"

Can you guess the answer? 

A way to overcome feelings such as stress, anxiety, fear and overwhelm.

All of these states are made up of 3 pieces: Thought, Physiology and Focus.

With this information you can change any ‘negative’ feeling into a useful one.

THOUGHT

Although you might have heard otherwise, hearing voices in your head is perfectly normal. It’s called internal dialogue and it’s an essential part of functioning as a human being.

Our internal voices can either be our biggest supporters or our harshest critics.

Notice the self-talk going on in your head. You’re probably reading these words to yourself. What kinds of things do you say to yourself on a daily basis? What do you say to yourself when you’re in a difficult situation?

Notice the language used and the tone of voice.

Generally if we are in a stressed state our internal dialogue will be speeded up and full of self criticism and catastrophising (imagining the worst case scenario.)

Try slowing down your internal voice. Try changing it to a supporter rather than a critic.

Write down some phrases that would make you feel confident, calm and in control. Write them down on a piece of card where you can see them and say them to yourself (either out loud or just in your head.)

PHYSIOLOGY

The way we use our bodies dictates a lot of how we feel. Think about it… when you feel depressed how do you sit, stand, walk and breath? Chances are likely that it’s quite different to when you’re totally amped and 'in the zone.'

Can you look at a person and get a good idea of how they feel? Most people can. All we have to do is notice their posture, their gestures and the look on their faces.

Most people don’t give any thought to how they use their bodies. The simply go about their daily life. If you want to make massive changes in the way you feel and the way you deal with stress, anxiety, fear and overwhelm then start taking charge of your physiology.

How are you sitting or standing right now? Are you balanced? Are you breathing slowly or quickly? Which parts of your body do you notice most?

Try standing the way you would if you were fully confident and motivated. Notice the difference it makes. If you get into a negative emotional state physically shake it off and act ‘as if’ you were feeling calm, confident and in control.

This will make a massive difference to your sports performance.

FOCUS

The third thing that influences how you feel is your focus. Your brain can only cope with small amounts of data so In every moment you're focused on some things and blocking other things out.

Notice the feeling in your left big toe. Until I mentioned it you probably weren’t aware of it but now you are.

When we get into problematic emotions we tend to be focusing on things that aren’t beneficial to us and things we can’t control.

One of the best ways to start using your focus to change how you feel is to ask yourself better quality questions.

“How amazingly well am I going to play today?”

“How many opportunities am I going to create?”

“What am I most excited about?”

Do you see how these questions shift your thinking into positive places?

Next time you feel stressed, afraid or overwhelmed simply shift your focus by asking a more empowering question.

I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH STRESS, FEAR AND ANXIETY?

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