Where Do Negative Beliefs Come From?
Negative beliefs prevent some athletes from achieving the success they dream about.
These athletes are plagued with negative beliefs about their talents and ability to perform in competition.
These negative beliefs, self-labels, and irrational thoughts can overwhelm athletes often before the competition even begins.
By the time the competition starts, lack of confidence is already a foregone conclusion.
Where do these negative beliefs come from?
Irrational beliefs often are born out of perfectionism, “I have to be perfect or… my parents will be mad or I will displease my coach.”
Some athletes think in all-or-nothing terms… Performance is either perfect or an utter failure.
In some cases, athletes call themselves names, such as choker, and adopt these negative labels.
How do negative beliefs affect performance?
Irrational beliefs and negative self-labels cause you to focus on the wrong thing… results.
When you pursue perfection instead of excellence, you become so afraid to fail that it prevents you from immersing yourself in the moment.
So while you are competing, you are constantly judging yourself and your performance.
In order to free yourself up for peak performance, you need to be able to counter those irrational beliefs.
How to overcome or counter these negative beliefs
Martin Turner et al. researched irrational beliefs and mental strategies to counter negative beliefs (Not the End of the World: The Effects of REB Therapy on Irrational Beliefs in Elite Soccer Academy Athletes, 2014.)
Turner stated that irrational beliefs are false, illogical and unhelpful beliefs that affect an athlete’s perceptions (what you think about competition) which influences your emotions and how you perform.
REBT (Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy) helps athletes identify, challenge, and counter negative beliefs and thoughts so you can perform more freely.
Turner says that athletes can combat negative beliefs by disputing the irrational thoughts.
The researchers determined that asking yourself the following three questions can help you confront those debilitating negative beliefs.
- Is it true? Is it true that I always mess up in pressure situations? Have there been times when I succeeded with the game on the line?
- Is it logical? Is it logical that just because I messed up in the past, that I am destined to repeat those mistakes in every pressure situation?
- Is it helpful? Does having this belief enhance my chances of success today or in the near future?
If you can dispute your own beliefs, it opens up room for more productive beliefs and thoughts.
Productive, positive thoughts enhance self–confidence, improve focus (Focus on what you are doing in the present), help you remain calm during pressure situations and create a positive mindset for competing.
Accepting that you can’t perform perfectly and not seeking perfection helps athletes to perform their best.
You can counter negative thoughts by trying these two tips:
- Tip #1: Understand how negative beliefs affect you personally. What do you experience: anxiety, inability to focus, fear? When do you begin to experience these? The night before competition, warm-up, or during the game?
- Tip #2: Record and then dispute these irrational beliefs. “Is it true?” “Is it logical?” “Is it helpful?”
Over time, you will notice those negative beliefs will start to lose their power.
Successful athletes have learned pregame preparation strategies to stay calm, focused, and perform with poise. We’ve created The Relaxed Athlete, Workbook and CD program to help you do this.
Boost Your Self-Confidence With Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach, Dr. Patrick Cohn, can help you or your athlete(s), ages 12 and up, overcome mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our students saying?
“WOW!!! What a week I had. I was able to perform with a confidence that allowed my style to shine through–no more entering the arena with that “deer in the headlights” look or feeling. I stopped evaluating myself while I was performing, and I actually left the arena after my patterns feeling like I had experienced a lot of fun. Thank you so much.”
~Julia Dreyer, National Champion Equestrian
For All Athletes – Learn Confidence-Boosting Techniques!
D you have a negative self-image of yourself as an athlete that stifles confidence?
No matter ow positive you try to be, are you unable to shake the doubt that rushes into your head when you size up your competition?
Have you labeled yourself as a loser, poor closer, or mediocre athlete and these labels keep you stuck in a rut of self-pity and indecision?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, check out The Confident Athlete!
The Confident Athlete CD and workbook program is a 14-day plan for ultimate self-confidence. This program is ideal for any athlete or coach that wants to discover proven confidence-boosting techniques guaranteed to drastically build self-confidence and improve sports performance.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Athlete Series…
What are customers saying?
“I first purchased The Confident Athlete to see how the program went and immediately saw results. I then purchased the rest of the confident athlete series and have noticed a dramatic improvement in my level of play or should I say consistency. I currently play NCAA Division 1 baseball for Lamar University, and even my coaches have noticed a change in the way that I approach the game. My attitude and confidence at the plate.”
~Tylor Prudhomme (Listen to his success story)
“I am a ASP world qualifying professional surfer and after beginning the ‘The Confident Athlete’ I had an almost instant change in attitude about my own surfing ability and my mindset going into competition. By using the Confident Athlete strategies, my confidence has done a complete 180 degrees. I won a local pro/am a few weeks back, and just had my best result of the year in one the last big events on the world circuit this last week in Brazil! It is my secret weapon!”
~Shaun Burrell, Professional Surfer (Listen to his success story)
For Young Athletes and Parents – Learn More About How to Help Kids Improve Confidence Quickly!
We’ve got a great program for you called “The Confident Sports Kid: A 7-Day Plan for Building Ultimate Self-Confidence.”
The Confident Sports Kid is a 7-day program for sports parents and kids to boost young athlete’s performance, happiness and success… in sports and life!
The Confident Sports Kid is two programs in one. There’s a manual and CD for parents/coaches, and a workbook/CD for young athletes.
Packed with mental strategies that you and your kids can start using immediately, this program teaches your athletes how to identify confidence busters, proactively deal with them, manage expectations that undermine confidence, and mentally prepare to stay confident when faced with adversity.
What’s more, our program teaches you, as sports parents and coaches, how you may be hurting your kids’ confidence and gives you instructions for changing your behavior in ways that will improve your athletes’ performance, confidence and enjoyment.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Sports Kid Series…
What are parents and coaches saying about our program?
“I appreciate the advice to parents as to how to help your child become more mentally resilient to bullying in sports. The specific advice and scenarios are extremely helpful for any child on a team and very helpful in guiding parents, coaches and administrators in how to deal with bullying in sports. I cannot thank you enough for your input, and I am so reassured to know that there are people like you who are writing articles and doing interviews on such timely and important matters.”
“Dr. Patrick Cohn and Lisa Cohn are to be congratulated! Together, they offer a wealth of knowledge, information, and practical mental tools for sports parents on the substantial “mental game” challenges and pressures facing today’s young athletes.”
~Marc D. Anderson, LCSW, MGCP, Mental Game Coach
For Mental Coaches – Add More Value To Your Mental Training Programs!
This workbook series was designed for coaches and mental coaches to use with their athletes.
The Athlete’s Mental Edge workbooks complement your existing mental training program. Each of the 15 workbooks in the Athlete’s Mental Edge System teaches your athletes a specific mental skill to improve their performance.
For mental coaches, this system is ideal for between session education.
For sports coaches, you’ll be able to conduct 15 team seminars using the workbook system.
In the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook system, you receive 15 easy-to-read, practical Mental Edge Workbooks on PDF, as well as 16 coaches’ game plan MP3 audio files.
What are coaches saying?
“I am really pleased with the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbooks – they are fitting in really well with my coaching! I find they offer a great framework for doing workshop sessions. I have also used the workbooks with a few individual athletes – for the younger ones (12 and under). They are giving a good structure and framework to our sessions. The workbooks have worked well with all of them!”
~Kerri Morgan, Mental Game Coach
“I am impressed with the willingness and openness of Dr. Cohn to share all of his assets (intellectual, products, etc.) with the MGCP students. You have developed an incredible model/package for mental training. Even though we are paying for your service, you are passing on a legacy built on your contribution to the world of sports. Thank you for that.”
~Tony Melito, MGCP