Applying Sports Psychology to Your Daily Life
Sports psychology involves the study of how your general thoughts and behaviour can affect your athletic performance, and how the latter affects the former. It is able to help athletes not only improve their performance, but increase their motivation as well.
Not only that: it utilises training and sports ideas to assist individuals in enhancing their lives and their overall well-being, as well. Here are some ways in which you can apply this mentality to your everyday life and reap the rewards!
Become More Mindful
Sports psychology places a huge emphasis on mindfulness, and this concept is a wonderful one to bring into effect no matter what you’re engaged in. Even the time you spend enjoying the real slots NZ has to offer will become that much more fun when you’re really present!
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing your mind into awareness so that it’s totally focussed on what is happening in the present moment, what you’re doing in the here and now, and what’s going on around you. While there is no one way to engage in Mindfulness meditation, generally it goes like this:
- Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
- Close your eyes, and start paying attention to your breathing.
- Inhale through your nose slowly and deeply, and exhale through your mouth in a controlled manner.
- Notice your breath, listen to your heartbeat, and feel your muscles start relaxing.
- The goal is to clear your mind and keep your attention focused on your physicality and your breathing.
When your mind wanders, and it will, don’t fight the thoughts that come up. Acknowledge them, release them, and bring your attention back to the present moment.
Practice this for just 10 minutes a day, and make a point of bringing the skills you’ll develop thanks to this meditation into your daily life.
Work On Your Concentration
Mindfulness will develop your awareness of your current moment, while concentration will help you focus on the task you’re concerned with inside that moment. This kind of attentiveness is a crucial skill, and can help you tune out distractions while you work or work out. Try these ways to harness your ability to pay attention:
- Stop multitasking. Focus on doing one thing at a time, and doing it properly.
- Make a To-Do list, and create it in order of priority.
- Set a time-frame in which a specific task will need to get done.
- Schedule breaks, and take them as you need them.
- Eliminate all the distractions you can control, like social networks and the like.
Start Walking Confidently
A sports psychology mindset can help you create more self-confidence and enhance your everyday performance as a result. It’s long been established that the beliefs you hold about yourself will direct your actions. Confidence can be defined as a set of beliefs held about your own ability, and thus it should come as no surprise that boosting it will lead to higher performance. Try these tips to enhance your self-worth:
- Use visualisation tools to bring to mind times when you succeeded and felt in control.
- Make a point of allowing others’ good qualities to inspire you.
- Exercise regularly.
- Turn mistakes and criticisms into lessons, rather than taking them personally.
