Think Like an Athlete: Four Hacks to Stop Negative Thinking
As we watch the world’s top athletes compete on the biggest international stage at the 2024 Paris Olympics, we know the physical toll it takes to get there. But what about the mental toll?
In the high-stakes world of sports, negative self-talk can be the difference between victory and defeat. As someone who has spent years coaching collegiate athletes — leading both men’s and women’s teams to #1 national rankings — Dr. Ivan Joseph has witnessed this firsthand. Negative thinking is a formidable barrier to success, and research corroborates this.
A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that individuals who engaged in negative self-talk experienced decreased motivation, diminished confidence, and impaired decision-making abilities.
But negative self-talk doesn’t just affect athletes, its impact is just as profound in the workplace. Ivan has spent decades working in the high-performance space, coaching athletes, c-suite executives, and emerging leaders. He is shocked at how many of the best and brightest become overwhelmed by the insidious influence of negative thinking.
The good news, Ivan says, is that negative thinking is not insurmountable. You have the power to disrupt the cycle of negativity and unleash your inner high performer.
Four Hacks to Disrupt Negative Thinking
Here are four actionable steps Ivan recommends to help his clients break cycles of negativity and shine, both on the field and off.
1. Cultivate Self-Awareness
The first step in overcoming negative thinking is to recognize it. Pay attention to the thoughts that occupy your mind. Are you constantly dwelling on past failures? Do you catastrophize future scenarios? If you struggle to notice your negative thoughts, you can look to your body for clues: your gaze drops to the floor, slumped shoulders, or even a slight flaring of your nostrils (disgust). Noticing your internal dialogue, allows you to challenge and reframe negative thoughts before they take hold.
Exercise hack: Use the notes section on your phone and put a little dash every time you have a negative thought about yourself. How many are there at the end of the day? Is there a pattern around certain people or environments?
2. Practice Cognitive Restructuring (Thought Stopping)
Once you’ve identified your negative thought patterns, it’s time to rewire your brain for success. Cognitive restructuring involves replacing destructive thoughts with more positive and empowering alternatives. For example, when you notice yourself fixating on potential pitfalls, remind yourself of your strengths and past achievements — “I can do hard things.”
Still doubting yourself? Counter your catastrophic prediction with some facts. How likely are these horrible things going to happen? Still worried, spend a little extra time or delegate for a Plan B, then let that fear go! By consciously reframing your perspective, you can cultivate a mindset of resilience and optimism.
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3. Harness the Power of Affirmations
Affirmations are powerful tools for reprogramming your subconscious mind and bolstering your self-belief. Create a list of affirmations that resonate with you and recite them daily with conviction.
Mine are short and easy to remember:
You’ll notice they all rest on my shoulders and encourage movement in the right direction. Whether you’re affirming your capabilities, resilience, or worthiness of success, repetition is key to embedding these positive messages into your psyche. Over time, you’ll find that your inner dialogue shifts from one of doubt to one of confidence and possibility.
Exercise hack: Write in the notes section of your phone three affirmations that are in DIRECT response to your negative talk. For example, if your talk is about how bad you are at math, your affirmation is, I can learn anything when I keep trying.
4. Let Go of Being Perfect
Who are you comparing yourself to? I have often challenged players who only want to take perfect shots on goal or are beating themselves up for not scoring to take careful stats of games of the best professional athletes to ever play that position. They are usually surprised to find that even the very best in the world miss shots and make mistakes. When we recognize this, we take more shots accepting that not every move we make needs to be revolutionary. When we let go of being perfect, we can quiet the inner negative voice that is always trying to beat us up over our mistakes.
Whether you’re competing in the Olympics, tackling a challenging project, or leading a new team, the relentless barrage of negative thinking is a formidable adversary that can undermine your performance and sabotage your success. It can keep you from putting your hand up in a meeting to share an idea, from putting your name forward for a promotion or team lead position, or actually cause you to walk away from your dreams. But, by cultivating self-awareness, practicing cognitive restructuring, and harnessing the power of affirmations, you can break free from its grip and unleash your full potential.
Take control of your mind. You got this.
An award-winning coach, prominent educator, and accomplished leader, Dr. Ivan Joseph has spent his career leading cultural transformation and building cohesive teams. His research has focused on understanding how self-confidence drives performance and now, as an internationally renowned speaker, he shares this knowledge to help leaders cultivate inclusive, high-performing workplace cultures.
Dynamic and engaging, Ivan always leaves audiences with a memorable experience that adds value long after the presentation ends. Contact us to learn more and to book Ivan for your next event.