What can you do when your positive attitude is playing hide and seek?

Your brain can only handle one thought at a time. Just one. So you choose what goes through that brain of yours.”

Dr. Colleen Hacker, Sport Psychology Specialist

In sports we work hard to train our bodies to achieve the goals we have set. But getting stronger and learning skills is only the beginning. Athletes have to also train their brains to confidently focus on their game plan and goals every time they practice or enter a competition.

Training is not just for sports. We can use the same approach to teach our brains the positive, loving attitude we want to use to process life. This is HUGE! You can develop a strategy to replace your bad thoughts with good ones.

• Choose your attitude. Be specific.
  For example, I want to replace negative self-talk with positivism.
• Develop a phrase, meme, or picture that represents that attitude.
  For example, this could be a smiley face, a logo, or “I got this!”
• Recognize the negative thought with an attention getter.
  For example, wear a hair tie around your wrist and snap it when you think something like, “Oh, that was dumb!”
• Replace the thought with your chosen phrase, picture, or meme.
• Reward yourself for your good thought.
  For example, take a deep breath and smile.

You will find that in time you will not have to use your “negative thought recognization tool” as often. But it’s good to continue to reward yourself for the positive thought. (But take it easy on the sweet treats as a reward or you have another training issue that will have to be instated.)

You’ve got this!