“Evaluate wins and losses objectively, by focusing more on effort and execution than on the outcome of the game” – Morgan Wootten

At a certain level, the mind becomes the most critical part of an athlete.

Athletes with ultimate mental focus tend to outperform nearly every time, regardless of athletic talent.

That’s why the ability to focus like a champion is an essential part of every successful athlete.

The Key to Basketball Mental Focus

Many athletes focus on what they don’t want to happen in the game.

They become too concerned about losing the game for their team. Eventually, negative thoughts start to creep in their minds.

When you start thinking negatively, it can be tempting to try to force those thoughts out of your head. You try as hard as possible to stop thinking about them and push them out.

But this approach often backfires.

Resisting those negative thoughts can actually reinforce that thinking pattern and make things worse. The more you try not to think about something, the more you actually end up thinking about it.

To get rid of negative thinking, you want to try my mental skills strategies.

These techniques are designed to help you clear your mind of those negative thoughts so you can reach your full potential on the court.

When you notice a negative thought entering your mind, do “scattered counting.”

To do scattered counting, you want to recite five numbers out of order. For example – 5, 18, 59, 96, 22. Any five numbers will do.

The reason you want to recite the numbers out of order because you have to concentration and think about what the next number will be. Hence, this will interrupt the negative thoughts, and you can now replace it with positive thoughts.  

Remember, for the most part, you cannot control thoughts are entering your mind, but you can now control how long you will let it linger on. The longer it lingers the more damage it will do.

Develop a Positive Mindset?

Focus on what you do want to do on the court and how you want to play. When you focus on what you want, you become more positive, and you bring about what you think about.

To practice, grab a sheet of paper and pencil and write down only the positive things that may happen. This will train your mind to look for them, and if you do this for 10 minutes a day, you will develop a more positive mindset.

Once you realize everything that you can do, you feel empowered, confident, and strengthened!

Strengthen your focus even more with my Guided Imagery Audio. It is FREE!

*Text Mental Game to 33777 and get your free Guided Imagery Audio. This will help you elevate your game sooner, quicker and faster!