In my eighth of 12 vlog segments devoted to athletes and coaches, I describe to you how you can become an emotional master in your sport. For me, an emotional master is not someone who doesn’t feel emotions, but rather someone who experiences the wide range of emotions that are an unavoidable part of sports and can respond to the negative emotions in a positive way that helps them achieve their athletic goals. For example, how do you react when you experience frustration, anger, and disappointment? Do you beat yourself up, lash out at others, or just give up? If you react in any of these ways, you’re acting like an emotional victim who loses control of their emotions and becomes overwhelmed by them.
In this vlog segment, I introduce you to how you can become an emotional master by helping you recognize when you start to go to the “dark side” and what you can do regain control of your emotions and direct them in a healthy direction. My recommendations include:
- Recognizing those sports situations in which your “hot buttons” get pushed (strong and excessive emotional reactions to something that happens in your sport) that make you feel bad and cause your performances to suffer;
- Creating healthier alternative reactions that enable you to react in positive ways that make you feel better and help you perform your best;
- Practicing those healthier emotional reactions until they become habit and your hot buttons become disconnected.
I also discuss goals you can set related to your emotional life as an athlete to make you happier and perform better in training and competitions:
- Allow yourself to experience the full range of emotions from frustration, anger, and sadness to excitement, pride, and joy. Emotions are two sides of the same coin which means that you can’t “cherry pick” your emotions; rather, you have to be willing to feel them all;
- Gain mastery over your emotions so they become tools that foster high performance rather than weapons that lead to poor performance;
- Then use your emotions, whether good or bad, to propel you toward your sports goals.
To watch Prime Sport vlog segment #8, click here.
Want to get your mind in the best shape of your life so you can perform your best when it matters most? Take a look at my latest book, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals and at my online courses for athletes and coaches .