Are you mentally tough? Resilience is a quality worth cultivating, as it can make the difference between being pummeled by life’s difficulties and rising above them to reach greater heights. If you feel this necessary character trait is missing or feeble in your own life, perhaps a sports psychologist can help.
It may be surprising that a sports psychologist would be suggested before a licensed clinical psychologist who focuses on traditional methods of mental healing. While that maybe the right path if you find it would be of benefit for your specific experiences, for others simply using the sports psychology techniques examined below will be beneficial.
All strength begins in the mind first; the mind runs the show and the body follows suit. For athletes, their body with its strength and agility is their calling card. In fact, one NCAA study on student athletes discovered that 60% thought of themselves as athletes first, and students second.
Whether or not this will affect those students academically, the fact remains that many people like to define themselves as athletes whenever they feasibly can do so. This predisposition may be because of the effect regular movement has on a body, specifically allowing a person in meeting set goals. When you’re working hard towards a goal, you want everyone to know it.
To meet those goals, visualization can be immensely helpful. This is also one of the mental imagery tools of the sports psychologist, which are as follows: cognitive specific; cognitive general; motivational specific; motivational general mastery; and motivational general arousal. About 83% of surveyed sports coaches, when asked about how an athlete can succeed, have stated that mental toughness as the most vital psychological component in competitive sports.
But what if you’re not an athlete? It doesn’t matter if your idea of sports is lacing up your walking shoes, resilience is a character trait that can help you regain control over your thoughts, and therefore your life. Because there is more to success than simply imagining that one will be successful, it may be wise to seek out a sports psychologist for this next part.
The way that athletes cultivate mental toughness is by facing their fears head-on. It may be a fear of failure, or a fear of a player on another team that they need to face, but in doing so the athlete becomes stronger. Knowing one’s fears is a beginning step in this process, but sometimes we need someone else to help us look at the bigger picture, including hidden fears and obstacles.
Visualization is a term that has gained quite a bit of popularity in the past decade or so. This might be because it is relatively easy to do, and many people have found a measure of success with it. Picturing one’s fears and how to deal with those fears helps people feel more empowered in conquering the hard things in their lives.
No matter what battles you are currently facing in your life, recovering from difficulties quickly is something everyone wants. If you find that this task is harder than you’d like, there may be some techniques out there that can be of service. Look into the licensed sports psychologists in your area, and see if it is right for you.