Power of Positive Thinking

Good Evening Everyone,

Whew, NFL Sunday... always a fun day for a sport enthusiast and sport psychology consultant such as myself. As I am watching my Fantasy Football Team go down in flames this weekend, and watching multiple players gets injured, it's put some things in perspective for me in a strange way. Things can always be worse, right? Yes, I am still struggling to find employment, and yes I am unable to do the thing I love the most which is running, but I still have a roof over my head that I am thankful for, and food on the table. I have been finding myself to be very frustrated with my own physical therapy these days, with a new (and wonderful) PT putting me through various tests and appointments. I know that it is the best thing for me so I can get back into running, but I keep catching myself complaining about it and feeling even more down on myself. I need to remember though that there are always worse injuries, or worse situations in employment, health, etc. Thinking negatively will not get me anywhere, nor will it get anyone else anywhere either. The power of positive thinking is exactly what it says... "powerful". These players in the NFL who have been carted off the field today, or even hobbled off on their own, can too recover and get back on the field, as long as they stay positive and motivated.

A major component of sport and health psychology (and WELLNESS) is positive and rational-thinking. I have always believed that if you go into a situation thinking negatively, the outcomes will most likely be negative for you. On the other side, if you go into a situation positively, the outcomes and experiences will likely be more pleasant or successful for you. I must remind myself this more often as I groan walking into PT, or as I am avoiding the stretches and exercises I am supposed to do at home 2x a time, everyday. Remind myself that this is good for me, this will get me to where I want to be (running) eventually, and it will also just overall improve my health and wellbeing. Now, I know that it is much easier said than done... trust me I know. Luckily I have people in my life to motivate me, but not everyone else has that, which is why it is always something great to teach yourself. Learn ways to motivate yourself and have that positive self-talk. And give it time to work. I can't tell you how many athletes I have worked with who have taken an entire season to grasp onto the 'positive self-talk' concept, and then watch it work. For example: while standing in the batters box in baseball, the player who tells himself over and over "relax, you can do this, focus, etc" will have much more success than the player who tells himself "you better not strike out like last time, or 'I suck at this', or 'i'll never hit this pitcher'". The exact same goes for those of you who are not in a sport but who are in the gym or on the pavement making your life better. So many of us have started a New Years Resolution, then petered out by March because we lose the  motivation and the positivity. Constantly find the things that are positive in what you are doing and use those for motivation.

Once you start positively thinking, you'll notice other things in your life becoming easier or less stressful, and hopefully more success. This can translate to work, recreation, relationships, and more! Go on and try it. BE POSITIVE. I am including some links to positive thinking sport psychology websites that I enjoy also. One is by Dr. Terry Orlick whom I took a workshop with at the 2011 AASP Conference, when I can say that I really started becoming more of a believer in positive living skills. I encourage you to learn more from him about this zone of excellence in your own life. Take charge of your own wellness! And SMILE :)

http://www.stack.com/2012/09/19/positive-thoughts/

http://www.zoneofexcellence.ca


Have a wonderful week. Happy Fall.