Negative thinking that hurts confidence can become a bad habit. Bad confidence habits are just like bad technical habits; the more you practice them, the more ingrained they become and the better you get at being negative. And that negativity is what will come out in a race. Fortunately, like a bad technical habit, negative thinking can be retrained. The goal is to engage in enough positive thinking practice that a new mental habit of positive thinking becomes embedded in your mind and replaces the negative thinking. There are several mental strategies you can use to help yourself get that much-needed positive thinking practice.<\/p>\n
Racer\u2019s Litany<\/strong><\/p>\n The Racer\u2019s Litany is a group of statements used to teach positive thinking and increase confidence. The litany retrains the bad habit of negativity into a good habit of positive thinking. As with any kind of habit, the only way to correct negative thinking is to practice being positive over and over and over again. The litany is like a training drill in which you\u2019re focusing on learning good technical skills. The litany provides the necessary repetition to instill positive thinking skills. Here\u2019s an example of a litany that I use with racers:<\/p>\n A comment I often get from racers when they start using the litany is that they don\u2019t believe what they\u2019re saying. This is just like the training drill in which you\u2019re trying to make a technical correction. In a sense, your muscles don\u2019t \u201cbelieve\u201d the new skill either. With sufficient repetition, though, the new skill is learned and your muscles come to \u201cbelieve\u201d it. The same holds true for the positive self-statements. By repeating the litany enough times, you will start believing it. Just like the improved technique, when you get into a race, the new skill of positive thinking will emerge and it will help you ski your best.<\/p>\n The important thing about the Racer\u2019s Litany is not only to say it, but to say it like you mean it. For example, I could say \u201cI love to train and compete,\u201d but I may not sound very convincing. If I say it like I mean it, with energy and enthusiasm, then I\u2019m more likely to start believing what I\u2019m saying. Saying the litany with conviction also generates positive emotions and physical feelings that will reinforce its positive message.<\/p>\n A great thing about the Racer\u2019s Litany is that you can personalize it to your needs. Create your own litany of positive self-statements that means something to you. Then, say the litany out loud every morning and every night. Also, say the litany before you train and compete.<\/p>\n Keywords<\/strong><\/p>\n Another useful way to develop your confidence is to use keywords which remind you to be positive and confident. Make a list of words or phrases that make you feel positive and good, for example, believe, positive, strive, or yes I can. Then, write them on your equipment where they\u2019re visible during training and at races. Also, put keywords in noticeable places such as in your bedroom, on your refrigerator door, or in your locker. When you look at a keyword, say it to yourself. Just like the Racer\u2019s Litany, every time you see it, it will sink in further until you truly believe it.<\/p>\n Use Negative Thinking Positively<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though I very much emphasize being positive at all times, the fact is, you can\u2019t always be. You don\u2019t always ski as well as you want and there is going to be some negative thinking. This awareness was brought home to me by a group of young racers I worked with not long ago. During a training camp, I was constantly emphasizing being positive and not being negative. One night at dinner, several of the racers came up to me and said that sometimes things do just stink and you can\u2019t be positive. I realized that some negative thinking is normal when you don\u2019t ski well and some negative thinking is healthy. It means you care about skiing poorly and want to do better. Negative thinking can be motivating as well because it\u2019s no fun to ski badly and not achieve your goals. I got to thinking about how racers could use negative thinking in a positive way. I came up with an important distinction that will determine whether negative thinking helps or hurts your skiing.<\/p>\n There are two types of negative thinking: give-up negative thinking and fire-up negative thinking. Give-up negative thinking involves feelings of loss and despair and helplessness, for example, \u201cIt\u2019s over. I can\u2019t win this.\u201d You dwell on past mistakes and failures. It lowers your motivation and confidence, and it takes your focus away from skiing your best. Your intensity also drops because basically you\u2019re surrendering and accepting defeat. There is never a place in ski racing for give-up negative thinking.<\/p>\n In contrast, fire-up negative thinking involves feelings of anger and energy, of being psyched up, for example, \u201cI\u2019m doing so badly. I hate skiing this way\u201d (said with anger and intensity). You look to doing better in the future because you hate skiing poorly. Fire-up negative thinking increases your motivation to fight and turn things around. Your physical intensity goes up and you\u2019re bursting with energy. Your focus is on being aggressive and defeating your opponent.<\/p>\n Fire-up negative thinking can be a positive way to turn your skiing around. if you\u2019re going to be negative, make sure you use fire-up negative thinking. But don\u2019t use it too much. Negative thinking and negative emotions expend a lot of energy and that energy should be put in a more positive direction for your training and races. Also, it doesn\u2019t feel very good to be angry all of the time either.<\/p>\n Confidence Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to stay confident when you\u2019re skiing well, when the conditions are ideal, and when you\u2019re competing against a field of which you are one of the best. But an inevitable part of ski racing is that you\u2019ll have some down periods and won\u2019t be skiing well. What separates the best from the rest is that the best racers are able to maintain their confidence when they\u2019re not at the top of their games. The real test of confidence, then, is how you respond when things are not going your way. I call this the Confidence Challenge. By staying confident, they continue to work hard rather than give up because you know that, in time, your skiing will come around.<\/p>\n Most racers when they ski poorly lose their confidence and get caught in the vicious cycle of low confidence and bad skiing. Once you slip into that downward spiral, you rarely can get out of it. In contrast, if you have real confidence, you can maintain your confidence and seek out ways to return to your previous good level of skiing. Like all racers, you\u2019ll periodically go through periods where you don\u2019t ski well. The challenge is not getting caught in the vicious cycle and being able to get out of the down periods quickly.<\/p>\n The Confidence Challenge can be thought of as a skill that can be developed. Learning to respond positively to the Confidence Challenge comes from exposing yourself to demanding terrain, difficult conditions, and tough courses in training and races and practicing positive responses.<\/p>\n There are several key aspects of mastering the Confidence Challenge. First, you need to develop the attitude that demanding situations are challenges to be sought out rather than threats to be avoided. When you\u2019re faced with a Confidence Challenge you must see it as an opportunity to become a better racer. You also need to believe that experiencing challenges is a necessary part of becoming the best racer you can be. You have to realize that, at first, these challenges are going to be uncomfortable because they\u2019re difficult and unfamiliar, but, in time, you will gain familiarity and comfort with them and, ultimately, gain confidence.<\/p>\n Here are some simple rules to follow to meet the Confidence Challenge:<\/p>\n Negative thinking that hurts confidence can become a bad habit. Bad confidence habits are just like bad technical habits; the more you practice them, the more ingrained they become and the better you get at being negative. And that negativity is what will come out in a race. Fortunately, like a bad technical habit, negative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1516],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ski-racing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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