Skatergirl groans. Ugh, why do I have to work on double axel today?
She’s been having issues with the consistency of her double axel and Skatercoach wants to work on it during her lesson.
Skatergirl sighs as she dumps her practice clothes into her skate bag.
I really hope I’m more consistent today. I mean, I’ve been doing double axels for more than five years.
Skatergirl zips her skate bag shut and drops it with a thump next to the door.
Wait, it’s been five years already?
Why am I still so inconsistent? Shouldn’t I be more consistent by now?
It’s an easy jump. Skatercoach says I should be able to do it in my sleep!
Skatergirl flops back onto her bed and drops her hands to her sides.
Actually, some of my other jumps are inconsistent too. Are they going to be like my double axel?
I mean, is there any point in continuing if all of my jumps are inconsistent? Maybe I should quit.
Metaphor Ahead
You stand at the top of a snow covered mountain. The air is crisp. You feel the cold wind on your face.
In one hand, you hold a snowball. It’s packed into a tight sphere, perfect for throwing at your friends, but you have a different plan.
At your feet, the mountain side drops away at a steep angle. You weren’t paying attention and accidentally drop the snowball over the cliff. Oh no!
The snowball begins to roll. It picks up speed, rapidly accelerating down the mountain.
As it rolls, the snowball rapidly grows in size. It expands from the size of your palm, to the size of a bowling ball, to the size of a car, to the size of a house.
The snowball thunders down the side of the mountain, swallowing everything in its path. At this point, it’s out of your control. Nothing can stop it. It’s far too big.
Negative thoughts are like a snowball. One moment, you’re worried about working on your double axel The next moment, you want to quit.
Not only does this avalanche of negative thoughts affect you mentally, it also affects your training and performance.
Mentally, negative thoughts distract you from the job at hand and create worry and anxiety. In other words, you are too consumed with beating yourself up to actually be focused on what you are doing in the real world
Physically, when you are up in your head with all those wonderfully “helpful (NOT) thoughts“, the part in your brain that helps you to automatically execute your jumps and other skills (aka muscle memory) goes off-line, and you all you are left with is poor performance.
The best time to stop a snowball rolling down the hill is before or right after it leaves your hand, before it gains momentum. The bigger it gets, the harder it is to stop. Imagine trying to stop a house sized snowball from rolling downhill. Not happening! It’s the same for your negative thoughts.
Your goal as an athlete is to be exquisitely aware of your thoughts. That way you can catch them, and cut them off before they gain enough momentum to damage your focus, mood and performance.
Catch your negative thoughts as early as you can, and work to shift your attention back to the stuff truly that helps you do your job.
Did you know? Mental skills are trained exactly like technical skills (jumps, spins, and lifts). In fact, athletes can learn and practice their mental skills every time they step onto the ice.
Ready to get started? Download your free “Confidence Myth Busters,” eBook and make a change.