Positive Affirmations

It is difficult if not impossible to visualize excellent performance if your self-talk is negative.  The mind will believe what you tell it.  It is important to combine visualization exercises with positive affirmations.  Poor performers and those with a negative self image tend to be self depreciating.  If you tell yourself you cannot do something you will be very surprised if you are successfu--and rightly so.

It can be very difficult to change negative self-talk if this is part of your personality—part of who you are.  Often when people try to change they end up criticizing themselves even more when they catch themselves saying something negative.  For example, “I should have done better on that freestyle, I am so uncoordinated sometimes.  There I go criticizing myself again, I’m such a loser.”   Rather than trying to eliminate negative self-talk, try and reduce it by practicing saying positive things to yourself.  It’s not easy, and at first you will probably feel silly and phony using affirmations.  If you have spent your entire life listening to negative scripts, it is unlikely that you will immediately believe positive statements.  It takes time and practice.

Suggestions for Positive Self-Talk

• Phrase affirmations using the first person singular. Use phrases such as “I am a graceful dancer,” or “I remember all my routines easily.”
• Take ownership of the statement.  You cannot control others—only yourself.  For example, “I am...”, “I can...”
• Phrase affirmations in the present tense when possible—you cannot change the past, and the future is too unpredictable to control.
• Phrase affirmations in the most positive way possible—avoid using negative words like “no,” “don’t,” and “not” in your affirmations, because your brain is not capable of visualizing a negative action.  The right side of your brain is predominantly visual; the left side is logical and literal.  In many ways they do not communicate very well.  Your visual brain cannot understand the word “not.”  Sport psychologists have understood this for some time. When you are preparing for a competition or performance, saying “don’t get stressed out” creates a picture of someone who is stressed out.  If you say, “I feel calm and relaxed; I am confident and alert,” you are creating an image of someone who is relaxed and confident.
• Make affirmations short, simple and clear. Think of advertising tag lines such as “Just Do It.”  Long complex statements are more difficult to internalize.
• Use as many senses as possible in affirmations and visualizations. Try to actually feel your costume against your skin, and hear the music.
• Verbalize statements out loud after writing them down.  Better yet, watch yourself and listen while standing in front of a mirror. 
• Make affirmations emotional—imagine what it will feel like to be happy, successful, powerful, self-assured.  Visualize yourself experiencing these emotions.  At the same time work to eliminate statements of negative emotions from your life (e.g., I’m tired, I’m sad/depressed, I’m lonely, I’m bored, I’m overwhelmed, etc...).