“Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.” Shaquille O’Neal

In sports psychology for basketball, there are two different mindsets or ways of thinking:

1. Practice mindset

2. Performance mindset.

These two powerful mindsets ultimately impact the degree to which athletes feel a desire to push themselves to develop a specific skill or how proactively they approach a difficult task.

Understanding of Practice Mindset

Athletes with a practice mindset believe that skills are built and that new abilities can be developed through practice and effort.

They firmly believe in their capacity to learn and grow.

They tend to persist in the face of setbacks, invite feedback, and find inspiration from those around them.

They tend to see failure as part of learning and progressing. They also understand that mastery of a skill takes persistence, practice, and time.

Understanding of Performance Mindset

A high-performance mindset is one that is authentic to you — and at the same time is optimal for a specific circumstance.

Your thoughts are the foundation of your performance mindset.

What you say to yourself matters. 

The repetition and consistency of those thoughts turn into thought patterns.

And over time, patterns of thought influence how you see your opponent and your game; how you think about yourself and what’s possible on the basketball court; and how you approach challenges, let downs, successes.

Essentially, your thoughts shape your experiences and have a massive impact on your ability to express yourself out there. The good news is you can develop a high-performance mindset.

Developing a High-Performance Mindset

While there are a variety of approaches to a high-performance mindset, here are a few basketball psychological principles to invest in:

Mindfulness: The first and foremost step is becoming aware of your inner world. A core component of mindfulness is the process of paying attention, on purpose, without judgment of your thoughts and emotions.

Self-Discovery: It is the process of developing profound clarity about your guiding principles and personal philosophy, which in turn, influences your thoughts, words, and actions. Positive self-talk is one such way of developing profound mental clarity.

Mental Skills: Like your physical body, you can develop and train your brain. You can learn how to generate mental toughness, a sense of calm, and attentional focus — all mental skills that come into play during difficult situations when it’s hard to maintain poise and high performance.

Athletes who excel in basketball know how to use their minds to get the cutting edge over their competition.

Irrespective of the situations, they have control over their thoughts.

They consistently perform well because they know how to think well consistently. They are able to live a high performing life because they understand the critical elements of a high performing mindset. 

 A winning mindset’s effect on basketball performance is critical, as seen through mindfulness, self-discovery, and mental skills.

With these techniques, you not only have a winning mindset but also can increase your performance and have the edge to be a winner!

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