What Daily Benefits Can We Derive From Sports Psychology?

The psychology of sport is a discipline which applies especially to high level sportsmen; its ultimate goal is to improve the performance of the athlete by relying on several tools. In addition, by analyzing athletes, we observe that their differences are increasingly slim: factors that were not given importance in the past because we thought that they improved little performance are now carefully studied. … And this small difference can be the one that will distinguish the former from the latter.

In addition, anyone can use the techniques and instruments used in sports psychology on a daily basis. At the end of the day, we all have challenges to overcome, day in and day out. We are also competing with ourselves to become better.

Athletes know that a good part of their triumphs depends on the mental plane. They need focus, confidence, a high tolerance for frustration, and a focus on success. We also need all of this to cope with our daily tasks. So there is nothing wrong with learning a little more about the tactics used by sports psychology and considering incorporating them into our lives.

Three successful techniques associated with sports psychology

There are endless sports psychology techniques. They are all valid. However, among all those that we identify,  three are particularly used. This is due to the fact that they are very effective  when entering a competition. The three techniques are:

• Visualization. It’s about imagining scenarios and thinking about how we’re going to act if they actually take place. This should be done in as much detail as possible. The person must visualize himself in a winning position in each of these three circumstances. This is a technique particularly used by those athletes who must perform a type of isolated execution, such as taking a free kick.
• Positive inner dialogue. He understands what a person is saying to himself and what he is responding to. When this dialogue is positive and motivating, skills are strengthened. This technique is widely used by those who practice individual sports such as golf or tennis.

• The “If… then” technique. It consists of imagining the possible problems that may arise in a competition and, at the same time, the strategies or responses that will be used to overcome them. This is a technique that increases self-confidence.

Each person manages to better develop a technique. However,  all three can be used simultaneously. For top athletes, it’s almost a mantra. They practice them tirelessly, as part of their training.

A suggestive experience

To try to measure the effectiveness of some of the techniques that are used the most in sports psychology, an experiment was carried out. It was organized by the BBC and took place virtually in 2012. Over 44,000 people participated in this study.

Participants were asked to go through a series of trials defined by a common characteristic: a situation in which the pressure was very high. The results were measured numerically. Then they were taught the three basic techniques of sports psychology and the test was performed again. The results were surprising.

Almost all of the volunteers improved their performance. The results were so striking that they caught the attention of other researchers. Currently, these results are still being examined to improve and refine the techniques used.

Daily application of techniques

The basic techniques of sports psychology have been practiced in several fields. There are few cases where they have not had a favorable impact on better performance. We now know that certain techniques are more applicable to certain situations than to others.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

• Speaking in public. The “If… then” technique has been proven to work very well in overcoming the fear of public speaking. This tactic increases self-confidence. By imagining the possible difficulties and the strategies to deal with them, the fear of speaking out in public disappears.
• Activities that involve a high risk. Risky activities generate more anxiety. The visualization technique has been shown to be particularly effective for this type of challenge. For example, surgeons derive a lot of benefits from it. They can build a mental plan for the surgery and this helps them improve their performance.

• Stressful social situations. This includes situations that generate tension because of, for example, the presence of an authority figure. Or because of the excessive rigidity of the social atmosphere. According to observations, in these cases, the most appropriate is to resort to the technique of positive internal dialogue. This reinforces security and makes it easier to cope with the situation.

These techniques combined with sports psychology have been effective for many athletes. So why shouldn’t they be for just any person? The main thing is to maintain discipline in their practice. In fact, they start to help us when we incorporate them as a habit into our daily lives.

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