Confidence
Stars in the Dark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0OxViEDpGY
Motivational Mantra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ENJ9FJIKxM
Instructional Self Talk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJDSFWgghjI
Confidence Jar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pivs1JonUO4
5 weeks to go…magic mantra
So the big focus for this past week was The Big Half. A fab half marathon which starts near the Tower of London, heads under the Rotherhithe tunnel all the way to Canary Wharf, back to Tower Bridge and along to Greenwich. You finish in front of the Cutty Sark. We got...
7 weeks to go…stars in the dark
A good week for training. Started badly though. Went for a run and after 25 minutes felt dizzy and blugh. Did another 5 minutes but no better so turned round and headed back. Next day’s intervals not much better. But a swim on the Thursday was pretty magic. My coach...
Vicarious confidence – taking inspiration from those around you
I write and talk a lot about confidence – it is one of the main reasons athletes come to see me. I will often explain that from my reading of the sport psychology literature in confidence I’ve identified 12 main sources: Previous performances and skills mastered...
1 week to Marathon – confidence booster
Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right. This famous phrase amplifies just how much of whether you succeed is down to your mind. Over the last seven weeks I have blogged some ideas you can use to stay on track and ensure your mind is fully prepared for...
2 weeks to Marathon – make your mantra
Over the eight weeks’ final build up to the London Marathon I am blogging some ideas you can use to stay on track and ensure your mind is as prepared for the race as your body is. This post, with two weeks to go, suggests you create your marathon mantra. As you...
5 weeks to Marathon – Pre-race routine
Over the eight weeks’ final build up to the London Marathon I am blogging some ideas you can use to stay on track and ensure your mind is as prepared for your run as your body is. This post, with five weeks to go, suggests you prepare yourself a pre-race...
6 weeks to Marathon – Visualise your run
Over the eight weeks’ final build up to the London Marathon I am blogging some ideas you can use to stay on track and ensure your mind is as prepared for the race as your body is. This post, with six weeks to go, suggests you learn how to run through your mind,...
What is your mantra?
I recently asked a group of marathon runners at a Performance In Mind talk about their mantras. My supervisor, who was watching, pointed out afterwards that ‘mantra’ isn’t a word that lives in everyone’s day to day dictionary. He had a point! Though the idea of them...
Pre-performance routines
Superstitions in sport
In researching for an Athletics Weekly piece recently on the charms and superstitions used by athletes (you can read the piece here – it includes all the reasons why athletes may have superstitions and if they work or not) I came across so many superstitions reported...
Can ‘imagining success’ make you more successful?
https://performanceinmind.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/imagery-information-sheet.pdfTo be a successful athlete there are thousands of individual elements, all making a difference. The basic physiological attributes you are born with, the sporting skills and techniques you learn, the personality traits that push you towards perfectionism, mental...
Self-confidence: Why you need it and how to get it
Self-confidence, the belief that you are able to perform in the way you want to, is vital in sport. If you have it, you can put all your focus on executing the physical, psychological and perceptual skills you need to perform well, and you can trust that you have the...