Take two athletes, both equally talented and hard-working, and let them compete. Who do you think will win? Most likely, the one who has a solid mental strategy to win.  

The following mental preparation techniques will help you bring your sports performance to the next level and eventually win in various areas in life.  

1. Preparation  

If you have a big event, it’s essential you prepare ahead. You can’t control certain things in a game or competition setting: you can’t control what performance other players or competitors will bring, what judges will think, the weather, or injuries that might happen.  What you can control, however, is how you prepare for that event.  

You can control whether you follow your training plan and execute your nutrition protocols flawlessly, and you can control what you do every day.  

Start prioritizing your daily activities: put more effort into goal-relevant activities and stay away from goal irrelevant activities.  

Visualize different aspects of your event. For example, if you participate in a physique competition, imagine how it feels if you win the competition: every detail matters here. The more detailed and realistic your visualization, the more mentally prepared and confident you will be during the actual competition.  

2. Self-Efficacy through Previous Experience  

If you’ve already done something and attempt to do it again, you can always recall your previous experience and use it as fuel. Even if you didn’t perform well last time, still, you finished it. Use this to get more confident in your task and stay focused.  

3. Choice of Focus  

During an event or even preparation for it, choose your focus. It can be an external or internal focus. External focus is when you focus on things around you like the finish line, distractions, or similar. Internal focus is when you focus on your own positive thoughts.  

You can start motivational self-talk to encourage and motivate yourself. 

4. Breaking Down Your Goal 

Choosing one big goal can be overwhelming and hard to achieve. It can lead to losing your confidence and start feeling anxious: not what you want if you want to win! Instead, try to break down your big goal into smaller achievable goals. 

5. Social Support  

Social support can make your training or preparation for the event as well as the event itself easier. We can find emotional support in our friends and family to help deal with worries and problems. They can also cheer you up with small surprises to encourage you.  Having a training or competition in a group with other people can give us esteem support, as you aren’t doing it alone.  

Sources:  

Frimmel, Kayla, “Mental Preparation Techniques and Accomplishment of Race Goals by Ironman  Triathletes: A Qualitative Investigation” (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 128. doi:  10.17265/2332-7839/2017.03.003 

Filgueiras A, Quintas Conde EF, Hall CR. The neural basis of kinesthetic and visual imagery in sports: an ALE meta-analysis. Brain Imaging Behav. 2018;12(5):1513-1523. doi:10.1007/ s11682-017-9813-9 

Mack, G., Casstevens, D., & Rodriguez, A. (2001). Mind gym: An athlete’s guide to inner excellence. Chicago, Ill: Contemporary. 

Martin J. Mental preparation for the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games. Clin J Sport Med.  2012;22(1):70-73. doi:10.1097/JSM.0b013e31824204cc