The Power of Positive (yet realistic) thinking

There are a couple of things that help replace negative self-talk with true, helpful and positive thinking. I’ll use playing tennis as an example.

Specific: Positive thinking works best if it is specific. Instead of “I will do my best,” we can say, “I will focus on breathing,” or “I will keep my eye on the ball,”” or “I will bend my knees before hitting my forehand.” If you focus on those specific things, your are more likely generally to do better.

In our control: Positive thinking works best if we focus on something in our control. Instead of “I will win,” which is out of your control, focus on specific goals that you can control. Think “I will, I will, I will,” instead of “they will.” You can control your breathing, your eyes and your knees; you can’t control the skill level of your opponent.

Confident: Positive thinking works best if you are confident you will succeed. “I won’t hit any serves out,” puts so much pressure on you! Only say you will keep your eye on the ball if you are pretty sure you are able to do that. You can say, “I will focus on power for my first serve, and if it goes out, I will take a deep breath before my second serve,” Saying things like, “every,” or “never” set us up for a level of perfection that we probably don’t believe. Set goals you are confident you can achieve.

Good: Positive thinking works best when it is… Positive! Instead of “I won’t,” or “I hope I don’t,” we can say, “I will,” I can,” and “I will focus on..."