Athletes can practice hard all year long, only to defeat themselves before they take the ice in competition.
One of the biggest cause of this is “expectations.” Expectations are dream killers.
The easiest way to identify an expectation is the presence of the word, “should.”
• I should skate a clean program.
• I should land all my jumps.
• I should get a personal best.
• I should skate better than I did my last time out.
• I should place in the top 4.
The “shoulds” are usually tied to thinking (worrying) about:
1. The outcome.
2. Things in the future or the past (rather than the present).
3. Thinking rather than taking action.
Frustration comes from being in your head, thinking about things that are out of your control.
The feeling of being overwhelmed comes from thinking rather than taking action.
Expectations can lead you to defeat yourself before even step on the ice.
The best way to combat the “shoulds” is to work backwards from the “shoulds” until you find something that you can take action on.
For example:
I should get a personal best at this competition.
Ask this question: What can I do to get a personal best at this competition?
• I can’t control the score that the judges give me, but I can control the way I skate.
• I have improved my skills since my last competition.
• I have improved things I didn’t do well the last time, so if I skate the way I do in practice, I will skate better than I did in the last competition.
• In order to skate well in competition, I can skate the way I do in practice, one element at a time.
Action: In order to skate one element at a time, I need to keep my focus on what I am doing right at the moment I am doing it.
When I do all of that, I know I will have skated better than the last competition.
I am not in control of what the judges and tech panel see, so I am not in charge of my score, but I will have done all I can if I take this action.
Start right now. Find an expectation you have and work through it to the action steps using the process above.
Keep practicing this process and you will be on your way to facing competition with your best skate ever.
Changing your mindset is a process. It requires constant attention and practice just like your skating. Work on your mental game to build the tools you need to excel in your sport and in life.
Imagine what it would be like if you knew you could turn out your best performance every competition? Start your journey to worry free competition. Download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook for a jump start!