MENTAL SKILLS TRAINING: SELF-TALK

To increase performance, you must learn how to effectively dial in your internal dialogue.

The mental skill of 'self-talk' can be leveraged as a tool to perform better in the present moment. To do this effectively, you must understand what it is and how to apply it to improve your focus on the process.

Internal Dialogue

We all possess an internal dialog and it is very important during difficult moments to maintain control of this dialogue or self-talk.

For most of us, our natural tendency is to employ negative or unproductive self-talk. We must learn to harness this dialogue in difficult moments and stressful conditions if we aim to improve our performance moving forward.

Operating Under Duress

In a high-stress situation, while deployed overseas, a special operator maintains clarity of thought and mental acuity by exercising present-moment awareness, focusing on what he can control, and what needs to happen next and how to affect it.

Instead of succumbing to fear or thoughts associated with the potentially devastating consequences of failure, an experienced operator will focus on what needs to be done to make every effort to ensure the proper course of action becomes a reality. 

The effective use of a performance statement can help create this flip of the switch in the mind needed to help the operator compartmentalize emotions and focus on the current task or objective.

This ability to control distractions and stay focused in times of stress and uncertainty happens from experience through repetition and adequate preparation.

The goal is to ultimately make a habit of forcing out negative emotions and fear-inducing thoughts and then replacing them with the correct thoughts needed for effective performance.

This strategy can be learned and effectively leveraged by anyone. It does not matter the circumstance or the arena. Controlling your internal dialogue and restructuring it in a way that drives performance is within your reach.

You just have to learn the skill effectively, put it into practice, and then apply it to harness your focus when it matters.

Baseline 

Before we can develop our self-talk and harness it to work for us, we must begin by establishing a baseline or awareness of how we currently speak to ourselves in a variety of situations and circumstances. 

To begin, ask yourself the following questions...

• "How do I speak to myself on the regular?"

• "What particular thoughts and or emotions enter my mind when I feel stressed and pressured?"

• "How do I currently handle negative thoughts and emotions in difficult circumstances?"

From here, make a conscious decision to take notes and be aware of your self-talk throughout the day, especially during moments when you feel stressed, pressured, frustrated, or overwhelmed.

I highly recommend keeping a logbook of your internal dialogue for the week. After this week, take a look at your notes and then adhere to the following strategies throughout this post to enhance your internal dialogue.

Flip the Switch

Once you have gained an awareness of how you naturally speak to yourself, immediately identify the negative statements and reframe them to be more constructive. 

This is the process of creating a performance statement (more on this later). However, this alone isn't enough.

We know when we are lying to ourselves and blowing smoke. Words without action are meaningless and do not produce confidence or assurance.  For example, telling myself that I am going to hit a certain score on my next physical fitness test without putting in the work to make this statement a reality is quite stupid.

What we need is adequate follow through.

Follow Through

What we need to reinforce these reframed statements with the necessary steps to ensure that our newly crafted performance statements are indeed true. Put in the required and intentional effort to build confidence and reinforce that specific performance statement.

• Are my actions aligned with this performance statement? 

• Am I intentional in ensuring that this performance statement is true?

If you can answer yes to the questions above regarding your performance statement, then you are well on your way to developing the confidence needed to dominate your next endeavor.

At the end of the day, It doesn't matter what I say to myself, if it isn't backed by action and hard work, it doesn't lead to confidence and isn't achievable. Make sense?

Avoid Negative Self-Talk

It is important that we avoid negative internal dialogue or self-talk that outlines what we do NOT want to happen in tough moments.

When going through difficult challenges, we are oftentimes tempted to dwell on the thoughts and emotions associated with undesired outcomes.

When we focus on this negativity, the temptation to surrender or give up begins to creep into our minds. Do NOT allow this to happen! This is a slippery slope. Once you entertain these thoughts and allow them to permeate your mind…you are finished.

Immediately force negative thoughts out of your mind and redirect your focus or attention on what is going to enable your success in the present moment.

When negative thoughts and emotions enter your mind, take control of your internal dialogue to direct your focus on what you have control of in the present moment.

We can harness this ability through the use of accurate performance statements. The more we effectively utilize these statements, the more successful we will be at overcoming adversity.

Performance Statements

Performance statements are an effective tool for self-coaching that increases performance in the moment. These statements should enable you to...

• Release the outcome

• Focus on a specific process

• Provide encouragement and the motivation to perform better

Ultimately, you must recognize what works best for you and then incorporate these statements and performance strategies into your routine. Think of how you would coach a dear friend in a similar situation or circumstance.

The idea is to harness your focus and mental energy to place your attention on what is currently achievable and what you have complete control over in the current situation. This performance enhancement technique enables us the mental toughness needed to overcome adversity.

To do this most effectively, it is beneficial to craft performance statements that are unique for a specific activity or event.

Be Realistic

When leveraging the performance psychology skill of Self-Talk, one should avoid being overly positive, yet hold onto an optimistic but realistic outlook. Being too positive can be annoying, outlandish, and burns a lot of mental energy.

You know what real confidence feels like and you are aware of when you are lying to yourself. Being overly positive can have the opposite intended effect, backfire, and shatter your confidence when you are neck-deep in a suck festival.

Instead, choose a statement that illustrates what you WANT to do or must do in the moment vice what you do NOT want to do or cannot do.

Again, performance statements should be realistic AND believable. Ultimately, however, use the best statement for your current situation that works best for you!

Examples

• Running - “Keep moving. Steady pace. Easy Day.”

• Grappling/BJJ - “Position over submission. Keep working.”

• Brief or Presentation - “You’ve put in the work. You are prepared. One portion of the brief at a time.”

• Challenging Task or Endeavor - “This is an opportunity for growth. Make the most of it.”

• Combat Shooting at the Range - “Sight. Slack. Squeeze.”

• Strength Training or Conditioning - “Chest out, shoulders back. One quality rep at a time."

• Experiencing Fear - "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind - 2 Timothy 1:2"

As you can see from the examples above, the thought process behind the performance statement is to help you focus on what you can control or need to be doing in the present moment in order to maintain forward progress under stress.

A performance statement can also serve to provide inspiration and bring clarity to a chaotic situation. The focus should never be on the pressure itself!

You can and should build performance statements for a myriad of activities and events with each statement specific to a unique event. This will ensure that the particular statement is that much more impactful.

I also like to refer to certain scripture verses as performance statements to help me in tough circumstances and depending upon the situation.

The idea is to use statements that motivate you, calm your nerves, and divert your attention away from the negative thoughts and emotions that would otherwise hinder your performance. The purpose of these statements is to help you refocus your mind on what you have complete control over or know to be true and or achievable.

This effective practice of utilizing impactful performance statements directly translates to better performance.

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