Now we have an understanding of each of the pillars and what attributes make them up, let’s explore some ways of building these pillars.
Technique 1 - Know your why
Everyone is motivated differently. Understanding what motivates us, and where it comes from and being aware of what that looks like when we are thinking and performing in our sport can be super valuable. We can simply do this with a pen, a notebook and 20 minutes where you won't be disturbed.
Write down and answer the question:
I compete in (add your sport) because………
If you find it difficult to write freely with that question, here are some more that can help get you going:
What do you want to feel as the whistle blows or you cross the finish line?
What outcome from a competition makes you happy?
How do you feel before a competition day?
What gives you your buzz in your sport?
When you have those days when you feel flow, when everything just seems to go right and work, what is in your mind?
If you were told you couldn’t do your sport for the next month, how would you feel?
Once you have written down answers to these questions, you can start to identify what motivates you and whether they are extrinsic reasons (the trophies or medals, praise and accolades) or intrinsic reasons (personal satisfaction and the love for using your skills).
What pillars does this technique help to build?
Self-management (self-awareness)
Drive (passion, purpose, focus)
Fortitude (humility)
Technique 2 - Goal Setting
There is a whole bunch of research that shows that setting specific, clear, timely and realistic goals which are completely within your control can increase commitment, confidence, concentration, and motivation, decrease negative anxiety and improve performance. Simply, it is us deciding what we want to achieve and working backwards to create a plan to ensure that happens.
Step 1 - Create an outcome goal
The outcome goal needs to:
Stretching: make us focus and work hard
Realistic: Not so hard that is not worth trying to achieve
Exciting: Something that feels worth the investment
Controllable: Achievable despite others
Positive: Things we can proactively do rather than avoid
Our outcome goal doesn't always have to be a result, personal ranking, hitting a PB or whatever it could be in your sport. There are intrinsic goals we can set which can inspire us, such as fulfilment goals (using sport as a way of helping others), development goals (focussing on skill mastery) or environment goals (competing in new places). Once we have this outcome goal clear, everything else can flow.
Step 2 - Performance goals
These are the staging posts to help us see if we are on track to achieving our outcome goal. These are often specific skills, times, distances or scores you need to be hitting to achieve your outcome goal. These need to be very specific and measurable, so we can’t find ways to wriggle out of them! They also need to be positive, showing us what we need to accomplish rather than avoid.
Step 3 - Process goals
These are the building blocks, the individual Lego pieces or the jigsaw pieces. These are the actions, behaviours, strategies and tactics which will help us reach our performance goals. These are things we should be able to control and incorporate into our training and preparation. Sticking with these and gradually ticking them off will help us build momentum.
Working with your coaches or other key support staff to create these goals can also be helpful.
What pillars does this technique help to build?
Resilience (confidence, optimism, self-efficacy)
Intelligence (coachability, sports intelligence)
Self-management (self-awareness, accountability)
Drive (self-determination, focus)
Technique 3 - Mindfulness of breath
This is the most popular and straightforward of all the mindfulness exercises. It requires contact with the physical experience that is going on at that moment. Becoming aware of what is going on inside and outside of you. It allows us to put our attention and focus on where it is needed the most, the task at hand.
We can train and practice our ability to bring our attention back to the present moment. It is often referred to as lifting weights with the mind. Mental resistance training.
We can set a time during the day to train for this. Like you would for your technical and physical training. Mindfulness of breath is the main form of this training, in which you focus on the breath. Focus on the breath and the feelings associated with breathing. If anything pops up, notice it without judgement. If you get lost in thought or have become distracted, bring your attention back to the breath. This is the most important part, the act of bringing your attention back to the breath. Don't worry about being terrible at it. There is no good or bad in mindfulness. You are simply training the ability to bring yourself back to the present moment. Start by doing this for 5 minutes a day, every day. Once you get comfortable with it and it becomes a regular practice, up the time. Start small and build it up from there.
What pillars does this technique help to build?
Resilience (perseverance)
Intelligence (social-emotional competence)
Self-management (equanimity, self-awareness, self-regulation)
Drive (focus)
Fortitude (dependability)
Technique 4 - Self-Talk
Answer this question, who do you talk to the most?
The answer is yourself.
Self-talk is when we send ourselves a message internally (silently) or externally (out loud). The internal chatter has powerful influences on our confidence, motivation, focus, behaviour and performance. We can see self-talk as being either helpful or unhelpful. There are different types of self-talk. The one we are going to focus on here is called a motivational mantra.
A mantra is a short phrase or even a single word to help focus the mind which you can use to maintain the motivation to achieve your goal. A mantra will focus on the motivation for competing or on your goal, reminding yourself what you want to achieve. A mantra can be used at various times, such as before a competition when you might be feeling nervous, mid-competition when you are struggling with poor performance or self-doubt or when trying to master new technical skills.
Step 1 - Decide if the mantra is going to be motivational-driven or goal-focused.
Step 2 - What would you want someone to say to you when you are struggling?
The mantra you choose doesn't have to be set in stone. You might choose one which works for every competition or you might mix and match it depending on the type or level of competition or time in the season. There isn't a right or wrong, it is whatever works for you.
The most effective mantra is one which makes you feel slightly emotional. Will give you a lump in the throat thinking about it! For it to be most effective, it needs to be purposeful, memorable, positive and short. You could even use metaphors, for example, ‘I’m as fast a fox’ to help make it memorable. Be creative and use what works for you, just make sure it is purposeful, memorable, positive and short.
What pillars does this technique help to build?
Resilience (confidence, optimism, perseverance)
Self-management (self-regulation)
Drive (passion, self-determination, focus)
Fortitude (competitiveness, courage)
Hopefully, you have a solid understanding of the psychological pillars for optimal performance and some ideas on how to build the pillars and the attributes that make up each pillar.