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Basketball Mental Skills Article

Identify, Learn, then Move On!

The GREATEST mistake is to continue to PRACTICE a mistake.” Bobby Bowden

The ability to focus on football is one of the most important skills a player must develop.

In sport psychology, it is well known that having a laser-like focus can immensely impact your success in the field.

Unfortunately, many athletes have a focus that resembles the precision of a shotgun instead of that of a sniper.

They try to do too much on the football field and often don’t realize how it sabotages their football confidence, motivation, and performance.

Why Brain Train?

By nature, the human brain wanders – this process is also known as daydreaming.

This can help you sometimes in terms of creativity, but most of the time, it causes distraction.

During the games or training, many players find it difficult to concentrate because of unwanted thoughts and beliefs.

If you are on the football field playing and your mind is wandering somewhere else, you will not be able to perform at your full potential.

Your brain and body are interconnected. If you are focused on the game, your body will perform the tasks the way you want without mistakes.

When you are distracted by external factors such as negative self-talk or public criticisms, you keep repeating the same mistakes again and again. So your focus can make or break your performance.

To be a successful football player, developing your mental game is essential. The ability to focus on what is relevant at that moment is the key ingredient to help you perform at your full potential.

Be Aware of Negative Thoughts

The first step to any change is awareness, and it involves self-introspection.

Many times, the biggest problem is identifying the primary reason that is stopping you from reaching your full potential.

Increasing your awareness involves the understanding of football psychology.

To create self-awareness, look inward, using the power of your mind through self-reflection.

Identify the reasons behind your self-limiting thoughts and beliefs.

Then acknowledge the state of your limiting beliefs and the impact they have on your accomplishments.

Now Refocus

Once you have identified and accepted the chatter in your head, it’s time to refocus.

Understand that those beliefs are not valid. These beliefs appear because you have one (or more) bad experiences regarding these beliefs, and automatically your brain shuts down to the possibility of you doing it.

But this can be changed simply by shifting your mindset to the more empowering one. The foundation of these beliefs is subjective.

One great way to shift your mindset is with positive self-talk.

Replace your negative thoughts with positive ones by learning to become aware of your self-talk and the things that you’re doing.

Instead of telling yourself that you can’t do something, allow yourself to look forward to the challenges. Repeat some positive statements such as “I am the best,” “I can do it.” “I will win.” etc.

Taking the time to reflect and refocus can give you back the focus, confidence, and mental toughness you need to achieve your football goals.

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