UNDERSTANDING SELF TALK Damon Burton Bernie Holliday Vandal

UNDERSTANDING SELF TALK Damon Burton & Bernie Holliday Vandal Sport Psychology Services University of Idaho

WHAT IS SELF TALK? The steady stream of on-going thoughts or internal dialogue that goes on in our minds constantly Your self talk influences your moods, emotions, and ultimately your behavior

THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF TALK… rationality l Trained minds learn to think more positively, logically, and systematically. specificity l Self talk becomes conditioned to success and failure events, changing dramatically based on the mindset created in particular situations. automaticity l l Extensive repetition creates highly automatic thoughts, called beliefs. Automaticity of self talk is a two-edged sword when examining its impact on performance.

SELF TALK ABC’S… A = Activating Event l No Inherently stressful situations or events l “We are not disturbed by things, but by the views of which we take of them” – Epictetus B = Belief about the Event l Athletes attach positive or negative meanings to neutral events based on their highly automatic belief system C = Consequences l Our beliefs about the event lead to positive or negative consequences, both emotionally and behaviorally Thus, the meaning that we attach to events can positively or negatively impact our emotions, behaviors, and ultimately our performance

DOES SELF TALK WORK? Self talk patterns have been shown to be important predictors of sport success Positive self talk predominates in more effective performances, while negative thoughts more frequently accompany poorer performances l Hardy et al. (2005, 2011) Self Talk reviews Mental training packages that include self talk training as part of the intervention promote enhanced performance over 80% of the time

REPROGRAMMING SELF TALK… Reactive versus proactive approaches to enhancing athletes’ self talk l Most athletes prefer proactive approaches to self talk reprogramming, rather than “old school” reactive approaches The key to the proactive approach is to identify and create positive, facilitating thoughts (e. g. , reprogramming) that can enhance athletes’ emotions and performance l Self talk scripts are effective thought reprogramming tools

MINDFULNESS AND SELF TALK… What role or relationship does ‘mindfulness’ play in our self talk?

TYPES OF SELF TALK… Positive Affirmations l thoughts that focus on your desirable characteristics and qualities Goals l thoughts that keep your mind positively focused on the task-at-hand, promote high effort, and enhance persistence Appraisals l thoughts that determine the degree to which a situation is perceived as threatening or challenging l Self talk reprogramming promotes appraising problems as challenges or opportunities to learn and grow rather than threats and opportunities to fail

TYPES OF SELF TALK… Attributions l l Reasons or explanations of why we succeed or fail. Self talk reprogramming encourages performers to attribute success and failure to factors they can control and change, such as effort, ability, and degree of preparedness. Cue Words l l Quick reminders used during practice and competition. Keep the mind positively focused on process-oriented, present-focused reminders that should facilitate performance.

USES OF SELF TALK… Elevate Motivation l Intrinsic motivation occurs when athletes feel competent and in control. Self talk reprogramming should emphasize these factors. Enhance Focus/Concentration l Self talk helps athletes focus on their priorities and goals, rather than on distractions. Manage Stress l Controlling self talk, particularly limiting negative or self-defeating thoughts, helps to minimize the amount of stress athletes experience.

USES OF SELF TALK… Boost Self-Confidence l Persuasive self talk can convince athletes that they possess the competence and preparation to be successful. Maximize Skill Development and Performance l Cues and goals can help athletes remain focused on performance-relevant cues while disregarding and avoiding irrelevant distracter cues during skill development and performance.

“SMART TALK” COMMANDMENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. Be an optimist, not a pessimist. ¨ Self talk is a choice. Choose the “half full” option. See situations as challenges rather than threats. Remain realistic and objective. ¨ Think constructively, not just positively. Focus on the present -- “Here-n-now” self talk. ¨ Avoid “woulda, coulda, shoulda’s, ” and “what if’s. ” Appraise problems as challenges rather than threats. • See problems as opportunities to learn.

“SMART TALK” COMMANDMENTS 5. View successes as replicable and failures as surmountable and building blocks to future success. § See success as due to ability and effort not luck. 6. Concentrate on process not product. § Process is controllable and product is not. 7. Concentrate self talk on “controllables. ” § Possibly the single most important factor. § Make a list of what you can control in sport. § Make a list of what you can’t control. 8. Separate performance from self-worth. § We are not our performance.

HOW TO REPROGRAM SELF TALK… Focus on appropriate positive thoughts and repeat those thoughts frequently. l Athletes are urged to develop self talk scripts that can target one or more specific needs using a variety of self talk types as well as the more general guidelines outlined by the “Smart Talk Commandments. ” l Scripts offer athletes a tool that can be used to reprogram positive self talk.

CORRECTING UNPRODUCTIVE THINKING… Extremely difficult to change negative beliefs due to their highly automatic nature. However, irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions are learned behaviors, so they can be unlearned.

“THE CRITIC” “The Critic” is your inner voice that attacks and judges you. The critic blames you when things go wrong, l It negatively compares you to others, l It sets impossible standards of perfection, and l The critic blames you when you fall short, l It maintains an album of your failures but ignores your successes. l

“THE CRITIC” “The Critic” has your life planned out in detail and castigates you whenever you break one of the unwritten rules you’re suppose to live by. “The critic” calls you names (e. g. , stupid, untalented, slacker, weak, slow, selfish). It reads others’ minds and tells you they consider you wanting because they’re bored, frustrated, threatened or unhappy. “The critic” exaggerates the size and impact of your weaknesses, and uses your values against you (e. g. , “good players always play hurt. ”) “The critic” is the most negative part of each of us, and it hits you where it hurts, where your self-esteem is low.

DEALING WITH NEGATIVE THOUGHTS D 1 = Detect • Self-awareness of unconscious thought patterns, D 2 = Disrupt • Thought stopping, D 3 = Dispute • Reframing using counterarguments, E = New & more beneficial effects

DETECTING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS… cognitive distortions are general types of faulty thinking, and irrational beliefs are more specific, but highly automated, negative thoughts that create behavioral and emotional problems for athletes.

COMMON COMPETITIVE COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS Catastrophizing l expecting the worst, l exaggerating the consequences, Overgeneralization l forming conclusions based on insufficient information, Blaming l not accepting responsibility for mistakes, Musturbation l must’s, should’s, and ought to’s, l a form of concrete, inflexible, and unforgiving thinking, Polarized thinking l good or bad, right or wrong, succeed or fail, etc. , l leaves little room for mistakes or being human.

COMMON COMPETITIVE IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Fear of Failure l “It is terrible and unbearable when my game is not the way I want it to be” Social Approval l “I must win the approval of others and impress everyone who sees me perform” l control-based irrational belief

COMMON COMPETITIVE IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Perfectionism l “I should be completely competent in every aspect of my game at all times, never have ups and downs, and never make mistakes” l l The team that makes the most mistakes usually wins – Coach John Wooden’s philosophy on playing hard and mistakes. Mistakes are a normal and necessary part of learning. They are the building blocks of future success.

COMMON COMPETITIVE IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Equity l “Life should be fair and if I diligently work at my game, I should improve, play well, and get the rewards I deserve. ” l l Life is not fair! Hard work increases your chances of success, but there are no guarantees. Social comparison l “The behavior and performance of other competitors is extremely important to me and can destroy my game. ” l Cannot control others’ performances nor can they control your own performance.

DISRUPTING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS… Thought stopping uses intense internal cues such as a word, image, kinesthetic movement (e. g. , snapping a rubber band), or some combination of cues. l Stop the stream of negative thoughts as quickly as possible so you can begin focusing on reframing the situation.

COUNTERARGUMENTS TO DISPUTE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS productive way to view the situation, put your negative thoughts on trial, argue why the negative belief is irrational and unproductive and provide a more logical and helpful view of the situation, Counterarguments are solutions, not cover-ups!!

MORE THAN PRIMING THE PUMP OR STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUNESS 1 st Function – focus self talk to promote optimal performance, 2 nd Function – develop a functional stream-of-consciousness, 3 rd Function – “reflection” on events to understand what happened and provide meaning to successes & failures, Reflection is key to understanding, growth and passion.

WHY REFLECTION IS A CRITICAL TYPE OF SELF TALK Learning only occurs following reflection. Growth requires trial-and-error – making mistakes, learning from them and improving the process going forward. Experiencing life fully and with passion requires embracing the good things that happen to us while growing from the lessons learned from dealing with adversity and failure.

HOW REFLECTION IMPACTS SELF TALK We reflect more when things go poorly or when we fail than when we have smooth sailing and are successful. Even in positive situations, growth doesn’t occur without reflecting on the meaning and importance of events. Reflection helps us integrate new experiences and knowledge into our personal schemas. It’s how we make sense of changes in our world and grow from mastering challenges.

REFLECTIVE PROMPTS THAT HELP US LIVE AND GROW FULLY What did I learn from the experience? How did I grow from the challenge? How did I experience life more fully? How can I make good things even better? What do I do to follow my passion? What can I do to stay true to my values?