Positive Psychology for Athletes: Tip 1 – Fortify Mental Toughness through Cognitive Behavioral Skills
This is the second in a series of posts on Putting Positive Psychology In Motion, written by invited contributor Gloria Park Perin. The original post is available online. Check back tomorrow for the next post.
1. Fortify Mental Toughness through Cognitive Behavioral Skills:Mental toughness or resilience is a characteristic that is most often cited as a critical psychological nutrient for athletic success. For example, research has found that optimistic swimmers performed as well or better than their first efforts after perceived sport failure and enabled young students to perform better and experience a lower drop in success expectation and less stress/anxiety compared with pessimists. The Optimism Test can help you learn about how you interpret success and failure. Then, using exercises like Control Negative Thoughts, you can learn how to quiet your destructive self-talk and think more accurately and flexibly about the challenges at hand.
For more information, see:
Seligman, M. E. P., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Thornton, N., & Thornton, K. M. (1990). Explanatory style as a mechanism of disappointing athletic performance.Psychological Science, 1, 143-146.)
Martin-Krumm, C. P., Sarrazin, P. G., Peterson, C., & Famose, J. (2003). Explanatory style and resilience after sports failure. Personality and Individual Differences, 35,1685-1695.
This is the second in a series of posts on Putting Positive Psychology In Motion, written by invited contributor Gloria Park Perin. The original post is available online. Check back tomorrow for the next post.
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Most of the approaches to manage negative thoughts are based on CBT – a western approach. There is a growing body of research that points that mindfulness might be more powerful.
Hi Wayne,
I agree, mindfulness is another powerful approach to managing cognitions and emotions. Cultivating a non-judgmental, non-reactive stance with relation to the environment can be greatly beneficial particularly in-the-moment of competition. Mindfulness can allow athletes to be present with the task at hand, and less susceptible to the negative consequences of outcome-focused and reactive styles of thinking. Thanks for your comment!
Best,
Gloria