Mind of Steel
Watch What You Say to Yourself!
Dr. Christopher Stankovich
www.drstankovich.com
Self talk, or the dialogue you have with yourself, is very important as it relates to how we feel about ourselves, how we carry ourselves, our ability to be resilient to stress and failure, and a whole host of other important things. We all talk to ourselves (even if we are not opening our mouths to do it), and we all engage in self talk! The problem is when we begin to have negative and debilitating self talk and allow our negative emotions to skew our perception of reality.
It’s really quite amazing how self talk can impact pool players. Think about it: How many times have you played someone (or watched this happen as a fan), where one player begins to crumble and miss more shots. Have you ever really noticed what is happening? Chances are the player’s body language changes, he begins to shoot more quickly and without paying as much attention to the table, and in some cases you may even witness angry outbursts, foul language, or possibly even a thrown cue across the room! Obviously, it is impossible to play good pool when all of these things are going on at the same time.
In the example I just described, while it is impossible for us as observers to truly know what this type of player is thinking or saying to himself, we can be fairly confident that his self talk is just as ugly and angry as his outward actions are to the casual observer. The internal language we use within our minds is like a thermostat when it comes to how our bodies will respond. In short, allow your self talk to become negative, and you can almost guarantee your pool playing will suffer tremendously.
There is some good news to report, however. First, positive self talk will actually help you with your attitude, confidence, focus, and ability to bounce back! Similar to how negative self talk does negative things to you, positive self talk will lead to many positive things while playing pool. Secondly, you have 100% control over your self talk, so there are no excuses when it comes to allowing yourself to wallow in self-pity or call yourself all kinds of names in your mind. Finally, you can change your negative self talk into positive self talk at any time you want, even when you are losing or just missed a bunny shot you make 99 out of 100 times.
Take note of the type of self talk you regularly engage in while playing pool. Is it hostile and negative, or is it positive and facilitative? Remember, you are the only one who can decide which road you will take. If you seem to allow yourself to have a lot of negative self talk, you might want to do something to remind yourself to snap out of it and get back on track. For example, wearing a rubber band on your wrist and lightly snapping yourself can serve as a reminder, as can having a cue word written somewhere discretely on your stick or case (i.e. the word “Focus”).
Self talk is very powerful and can be the difference when it comes to playing your best pool. Good luck and remember to tell yourself to play like a champion today!
Dr. Christopher Stankovich is a nationally acclaimed expert in Sport Psychology and the Founder of Advanced Human Performance Systems. For more information on performance-enhancement products, including the exclusive “Mind of Steel for Pool Success” and the world’s first Sport Performance Assessment for Pool, please visit www.drstankovich.com
Watch What You Say to Yourself!
Dr. Christopher Stankovich
www.drstankovich.com
Self talk, or the dialogue you have with yourself, is very important as it relates to how we feel about ourselves, how we carry ourselves, our ability to be resilient to stress and failure, and a whole host of other important things. We all talk to ourselves (even if we are not opening our mouths to do it), and we all engage in self talk! The problem is when we begin to have negative and debilitating self talk and allow our negative emotions to skew our perception of reality.
It’s really quite amazing how self talk can impact pool players. Think about it: How many times have you played someone (or watched this happen as a fan), where one player begins to crumble and miss more shots. Have you ever really noticed what is happening? Chances are the player’s body language changes, he begins to shoot more quickly and without paying as much attention to the table, and in some cases you may even witness angry outbursts, foul language, or possibly even a thrown cue across the room! Obviously, it is impossible to play good pool when all of these things are going on at the same time.
In the example I just described, while it is impossible for us as observers to truly know what this type of player is thinking or saying to himself, we can be fairly confident that his self talk is just as ugly and angry as his outward actions are to the casual observer. The internal language we use within our minds is like a thermostat when it comes to how our bodies will respond. In short, allow your self talk to become negative, and you can almost guarantee your pool playing will suffer tremendously.
There is some good news to report, however. First, positive self talk will actually help you with your attitude, confidence, focus, and ability to bounce back! Similar to how negative self talk does negative things to you, positive self talk will lead to many positive things while playing pool. Secondly, you have 100% control over your self talk, so there are no excuses when it comes to allowing yourself to wallow in self-pity or call yourself all kinds of names in your mind. Finally, you can change your negative self talk into positive self talk at any time you want, even when you are losing or just missed a bunny shot you make 99 out of 100 times.
Take note of the type of self talk you regularly engage in while playing pool. Is it hostile and negative, or is it positive and facilitative? Remember, you are the only one who can decide which road you will take. If you seem to allow yourself to have a lot of negative self talk, you might want to do something to remind yourself to snap out of it and get back on track. For example, wearing a rubber band on your wrist and lightly snapping yourself can serve as a reminder, as can having a cue word written somewhere discretely on your stick or case (i.e. the word “Focus”).
Self talk is very powerful and can be the difference when it comes to playing your best pool. Good luck and remember to tell yourself to play like a champion today!
Dr. Christopher Stankovich is a nationally acclaimed expert in Sport Psychology and the Founder of Advanced Human Performance Systems. For more information on performance-enhancement products, including the exclusive “Mind of Steel for Pool Success” and the world’s first Sport Performance Assessment for Pool, please visit www.drstankovich.com
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