- Focus attention
Attention is like a beam of light: depending on where we direct it, we can focus on that thing. Our mind is a formidable and extremely fast information processor, but it needs to receive the right input information. For most sports, especially individual sports, it is useful to keep the attention focused on relatively few details, namely those that are needed for the athletic gesture. Like a computer, too many inputs risk overloading and degrading performance.
- Forget the result
It is impossible to give your all as long as you worry about the mistakes you have made or are afraid to make. Furthermore, victory also depends on external factors that you cannot control. Learning to focus on performance and the single athletic gesture instead of the result is a good exercise to take away performance anxiety.
- Stay in the present
Stay anchored to your feelings in the present moment. If you find that you are rethinking something that has already happened, for example a mistake made, or you are thinking about what could happen, then bring your attention back to what is happening in the present moment. The present is the only time that exists and in which you can act.
- Listen to your muscles
Every now and then during breaks or when you are preparing for an important action try to feel your muscles from head to toe. Very often we remain tense while keeping some muscles contracted. By listening to your body you can learn to avoid further fatigue and to relax by releasing muscle tension.
- One step at a time
When planning your training you break down your goals into smaller goals that need to be measurable and objective.
- Cultivate a Positive Internal Dialogue
We all have an internal dialogue with ourselves. A good way to take advantage of this feature is to develop some encouraging phrases and positive words, which maybe bring us back to particular moments in the past and give us energy.
- Visualize
Our mind has developed language relatively recently. Visualization is a language of the mind very close to sporting activity. Visualizing the athletic gesture you want to perform or the result you want to achieve (e.g., where you want to send the ball) is a good way to teach our mind what we are asking of our body and to program the athletic gesture.
