"The Comfort Zone"

Sports Psychologist Andy Barton

“The key to over-coming mental blocks is to focus on the positive, not the negative aspects of a situation. The brain can’t actually make a representation of a negative, it can only make a positive one. For example if you tell a golfer not to think about hitting their tee shot into the woods, the brain will instantly image hitting a ball into the woods. So you need to give your brain a positive scenario to focus on.

Rather than thinking about what will happen if you miss the corner, crash or do something bad, focus on the good aspects. Think ‘if I brake later I will go around the corner faster’ rather than ‘if I brake later I could run into the gravel.’ The brain can only focus on one thought at a time. If you are thinking a positive then you can’t think about a negative.

Past experiences can also hamper performance. If someone has crashed before, or even has watched a crash on TV, then this can form a phobia. This can also be overcome by thinking positive. The brain is protecting the body from what it sees as a threat, and you need to re-educate it. Change the language you use to think about your performance and always concentrate on positives rather than negatives .”

Andy runs The Sporting Mind at www.thesportingmind.com

 

<<Return to Press & Media