Quote of the Week: Think Positive
This week's quote is a warning to anyone falling into the pit of negative thinking.
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Quote of the Week: Picking Up A Habit
I think this week's quote pretty much speaks for itself:Aristotle wrote that "we are what we repeatedly do." Excellence, thus, is not an act, but a habit.--Gio Valiante author of Fearless Golf
Filed under: excellence, habits
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I’m Back with the Quote of the Week: Set Goals
Sorry for not posting a quote last week. A combination of student papers to grade, computer problems and the election kept me off the blog.I found this quote in one of my student's papers. It comes from Tom Amberry whose claim to fame is his ability to shoot 2750 free throws in a row without a miss. Since many people are "between" seasons right now, it's a good time to re-evaluate this year's goals and set next year's. This quote really speaks to the importance of goal-setting.
A strange and wonderful thing about goals is that they will always accomplish something good, even if it’s not what the person had in mind when setting them.
--Tom Amberry, author of the book Free Throw
P.S. If you live in the US and you haven't voted yet, don't forget to vote. As we saw 4 years ago, every single vote can make a difference.
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Quote of the Week: Be Quiet
I came across this quote in one of the papers I've been grading this week. The student's assignment was to review a popular sport psychology book and the book this quote comes from seems to be a good one.The mind needs to quite down in order for the body to serve it's function.
--Darrin Gee, author of The Seven Principles of Golf: Mastering the Mental Game On and Off the Golf Course
Did I mention that there is a new SportsMinded Survey? You'll find it in the right hand column of the blog. It has to do with the previous post on visualization and self-instruction so make sure you check that out first.
Keep your minid quiet and make it a great week!
Filed under: golf, mind, quiet
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Visualization and Self-Instruction: Do They Really Work?
Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible.
--Cherie Carter-Scott
As some of you know, I teach sport and exercise psychology at California State University Long Beach. I'm at the point in my course where I have my students practice visualization and self-talk. Inevitably someone will raise his or her hand and say, "Okay Dr. Kain, it's fun to do this stuff, but does it really work?"
And the answer is: yes, at least according to a recent study in the Journal of Sport Behavior.
Here's what happened.
Four researchers from the University of New England, Australia examined the use of positive imagery and self-instruction on the serving accuracy in a tennis serving competition. They took 115 adult tennis players and randomly divided them up into one of three groups: positive imagery about serving, self-instruction about serving, or just do what you always do.
The positive imagery group was told that before each serve they should "imagine the whole serve, from beginning to end, including seeing the ball go into the target zone." They were asked to imagine what they would see, how they would move, and how they would feel.
The self-instruction group was told that before each serve they should give themselves a silent self-instruction. They could choose from a list provided to them or use one of their own as long as told themselves something they expected to help them serve accurately.
The researchers found that both positive imagery and self-instruction leads to greater serving accuracy. In fact, there was no significant difference between how well players who used visualization and players who used self-instruction did.
However, players who used either of these two techniques scored 19 points (19%) higher than those players who were told to "just do what they always do." If any of you play tennis you know that the ability to accurately place your serve to your opponent's weaker side (or just to reduce your number of double-faults) can be a huge competitive advantage.
When I share this with my students the next question is typically, "why does this happen?"
While no one knows for sure, the researchers suggest that in both imagery and self-instruction athletes focus on appropriately completing the upcoming task. Focusing on the task at hand may help athletes exclude distracting or anxiety-provoking thoughts ("Boy, I could really mess this serve up" or "It would be really embarrassing to double fault now").
Does this just apply to tennis? While the present study only looked at one sport, it's likely that athlete's in other sports would also benefit from pre-competitive visualization and/or self-instruction.
Still don't believe it works?
I'll tell you what I tell my students. Give it a try!
Reference:
Malouff, J.M., McGee, J. A., Halford, H.T., & Rooke, S.E. (2008). Effects of pre-competition positive imagery and self-instruction on accuracy of serving in tennis. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31, 264-273.
Filed under: self-instruction, self-talk, visualization
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Quote of the Week: Marathon Madness
This is marathon season. With the Chicago Marathon (and my hometown marathon, the Long Beach Marathon) run last weekend and with the New York Marathon just weeks away, it seems an appropriate time for another quote from the world of endurance running.The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed.
--Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ
Make it a great week!
Post script:
Sorry for the delay in posting this. I've been out of town for the last few weeks. I promise to get another research-based post up very soon -- school is in session and I've had to get my classes off the ground. Thanks for understanding.
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Quote of the Week: Control
I don't get upset over things I can't control, because if I can't control them there's no use getting upset. And I don't get upset over the things I can control, because if I can control them there's no use in getting upset. --Mickey Rivers
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Quote of the Week: The Sports Section
The sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page usually records nothing, but man's failures.
--Earl Warren
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Tooting Our Own Horn: Shameless Self-Promotion
Filed under: Strength Training, mental prep, pacing, psychology of sport
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Quote of the Week: Another One from “The Bambino”
You just can't beat the person who never gives up.
--Babe Ruth
Filed under: Strength Training, quitting
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