Our protagonist, “Skatergirl”, is at the mall with a group of her best friends. She was looking forward to this all month but now her mind is preoccupied. Instead of being filled with glee, she is filled with dread.
Did she miss a shoe sale? Nope, that’s not what’s on her mind.
She is thinking that she has to face another practice tomorrow. She has to face another possible disaster.
Earlier today, during practice, her pattern was off going into a double axel. She threw her weight around the corner and fell really hard on her left side. Bam, she slammed all of her weight straight down on her hip. Even though she was wearing crash pads, it hurt!
After the fall, she got up but her mind was still on the floor. No matter what her coach said or did, she kept popping and messing up her jumps.
How can Skatergirl face another practice when her confidence is so low? What if the same thing happens again? What if she can’t control her body or can’t feel the connection to the ice again?
She is afraid. Afraid to jump because she might fall.
These anxious thoughts continue to bombard her mind – what if she gets hurt again? What if she bruises her hip more? What if she gets injured so badly that she has to be off the ice to recover? How will she get ready for competition?
Worry Is Me
Her thoughts are making her miserable.
A night that should have been fun and relaxing has become a night of dread and worry about practice the next day. She could not be present in the moment.
Skatergirl is “time traveling” in her mind. She is looking to the future and anticipating the worst. She can only see threats and the possibility of disaster. Her energy is split between the shopping trip and tomorrow’s practice. It is exhausting.
Once started, the thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Because she can’t take any action right now or in the future, the only thing left is to ruminate over and over on the same thoughts.
She thinks and overthinks about:
- The expectations of others
- Her expectations of herself.
- Will her coach yell at her if she doesn’t want to jump.
- Will she pop and circle?
- Will her parents think she is not trying hard enough?
- Will they make her quit?
- Has she lost her double axel?
- Will she be ready for competition?
- Is this the beginning of the end?
She’s not even on the ice, and this one hard fall has spiraled her down into a black hole of negative thoughts.
Don’t Worry, Be Planning
Yes, bad things happen. They can happen at any time. But what good can come from worrying about a future possibility?
Possibility means that something may happen but it also means that it may NOT.
It is good to prepare yourself for all scenarios. But worrying is not needed in your preparation. Negative thoughts without action can only hamper your performance.
When you find yourself worrying or dreading that something bad will happen at practice or at a competition the next day, make a plan.
A plan will give you the ability to take action if/when something comes up.
Having a plan will give you confidence in your ability to handle setbacks and be well prepared for anything that comes up.
Plan for Action
Here are steps you can take to turn worry into action:
- Identify what you are worried about (for example: falling again on the axel.)
- Break the axel down and figure out what parts you can do well.
- Pinpoint where you are having trouble with the axle and start to work there to improve.
- Do exercises and drills to make you more consistent in your trouble areas.
- If you don’t know what will help, ask your coach for help to “axel-erate” your planning.
The next time thoughts of dread enter your mind and “Marty McFly” comes to take you time traveling, “Back to the Future,” remind yourself that you have a plan in place for what to do about your axel, and put the worrying thoughts to rest.
Congratulations! By making a plan you have gone from “helpless to hopeful.”
Even though you can’t know what will happen in the future, you can learn from the experience and make a plan for improvement. That’s all you can do for now. Way to go!
Learn and Grow
It’s quite okay to be aware of the things that can go wrong. This is a natural process and helps all of us to be prepared.
But repetitive worrying has no purpose. It can hurt your confidence and increase your anxiety levels.
You can’t do your best skating in this frame of mind. The cost of this in frustration and lost practice is too much for something that MIGHT happen.
As the 8th century Indian Buddhist scholar, Shantideva, said “If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then worrying will do you no good.”
Follow the steps above, make your plan, put your worry away. Be at peace.
When tomorrow comes, take action and see what happens.
Do you ever feel like you can’t let go of something that happened in the past? Do you think a plan might make it easier for you to let it go?
Let me know in the comments, or shoot me an email.
Mental skills training can make a difference because it can help you access what is already there during competition and practice.
Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.
Are there any exercises to help push worry and negative thoughts out of your mind?
Aloha Carolyn,
This is a common concern for skaters. There are many ways of tackling this depending on what these thoughts and worries are about, and when they happen. Not knowing your specific situation, here is something that can get you started on handling the worries. I hope that you will remember that you have probably been thinking negatively and worrying for a long time, so give yourself time to establish a new habit of paying attention to more hopeful thoughts.
In order to make a change like this, you have to be willing to commit to it just like you would to learning a jump. There will be ups and downs, but as long as you are motivated, you will make the change. Start by shifting your perspective on worry here: Stop Worrying to Skate Great Read it and take the steps offered in this article.
Next start to recognize when you are worrying and take a time out. Then bring yourself back into the present moment and focus on what you are doing, whether it is on the ice or off.
This article can help you understand the power of being in the present moment: Your Power to Take Action is Now
I know this is not a lot of specific information, and doesn’t address the negative thoughts, so please feel free to get on a complementary call with me where I would be happy to address your individual situation.
Take care and let me know how you are doing,
Coach Pomai