Guidelines
for Internal Dialogue
by Marie Dalloway
Introduction
Guidelines for internal dialogue come from understanding
how champions talk to themselves. The process of altering
and controlling internal dialogue follows the logic for
developing other mental traits that enhance performance.
Model the methods of the great ones in sports.
Champions have a mental edge. They perceive situations
in way which is different from the usual perceptions.
That is one reason why they are champions. They see advantages
when others see problems. They experience difficult and
pressure-packed circumstances as challenging rather than
as fearful.
Changing self-talk represents an important step toward
overcoming performance stress. Self-talk helps to interpret
the situations that are experienced. This means that self-talk
can be used to re-interpret situations. When tennis players
learn to follow specific guidelines for internal dialogue,
they experience pressure situations as less stressful.
The methods for controlling internal dialogue form a set
of guidelines. They describe how to alter your perceptions
of a situation in an advantageous way, which includes
what to avoid. We start with the guidelines about self-talk
to avoid.
Guidelines About Self-Talk to Avoid
Rule One: Avoid Thinking That Leads To Worry Or Anxiety
Athletes who perform inconsistently, especially those
who perform poorly in the face of risk and pressure, have
self-talk which is centered on being afraid ( afraid of
losing, afraid of letting others down) or on doubting
their ability ("I can't do it," "I haven't trained enough.").
Such statements must be avoided. Statements of doubt or
fear erode confidence and generate stress.
Rule Two: Avoid Thinking About Past Failures
If you face an opponent who has defeated you three times
consecutively, thinking about those losses creates a negative
thought process, one likely to create high stress. If
you have an event at a site where you experienced a particularly
disappointing defeat, keep your mind away from replaying
that part event. Reviewing past failures prior to a competition
charges the current event with stress and lowers the chance
of your performing at your best level.
Rule Three: Avoid Thinking That Ties Self-worth To
Performance
Avoid statements which imply that your self-esteem will
be damaged by poor performance. Internal dialogue statements
that indicate this error are ones such as, "If I lose
this point (or match or tournament), I'm not any good;"
or "If I don't win, I'll feel worthless." When an athlete
has the attitude that winning is critical for maintaining
self-esteem, the stakes are too high. Unnecessary stress
is generated by this attitude.
Rule Four: Avoid Reviewing Negative Odds Of Your Winning
Avoiding negative internal dialogue statements includes
reviewing odds that are negative, a pitfall that catches
many athletes. Mountain climber Greg Sapp does not focus
on the dangerous odds he faces in climbing. His thinking
emphasizes the rare opportunity and adventure climbing
offers. Unlike Greg, many athletes, at all levels of the
competitive ladder, attend to the odds of their winning.
Athletes do not consider this a negative mental habit.
They view their self-talk as an objective appraisal of
their chances of success. If a tennis player, before a
competition, considers the draw and focuses on the higher
ranking of his first opponent, he may inadvertently undermine
his confidence. His thinking creates an expectation for
losing and higher stress.
Therefore, directly before or during a competition, avoid
thinking about opponents' rankings, opponents' tournament
or competition experience, their sponsorship, and their
reputations. Unless you know that you are going to come
out with better odds for winning, avoid thoughts related
to computing the odds between you and your opponent.
In addition to the avoidance guidelines, other rules for
self-talk inform you about how to shape and direct your
thoughts positively.
Guidelines About Positive Self-Talk to Incorporate
Rule Five: Monitor Your Internal Dialogue
To change internal dialogue, monitor what you say to yourself
prior to competitions. Internal dialogue follows patterns.
Statements made in internal narrative become habitual.
Unfortunately, routine statements frequently go unnoticed.
The first step involves paying attention to inner dialogue,
so you know what changes are needed.
Rule Six: Use Statements That Assert Your Ability
To Regulate Your State
Frequently, when athletes become stressed, they feel a
loss of control. Self-talk can change this occurrence.
Tell yourself that you regulate your stress level. Statements
such as, "I'm in control of how I feel;" "I control how
psyched up I feel;" "I regulate these feelings of being
charged up," convey this idea.
Rule Seven: Regard Stress Symptoms In A Positive Way
Stress reactions are open to interpretation. You view
stress positively when you regard stress as activation.
Rather than saying to yourself, "I'm afraid," or "I feel
weak and shaky from nerves," re-interpret the symptoms.
Say to yourself, "I feel challenged;" "I feel powerful;"
"I feel excited;" "I'm ready." Such statements help you
to shift the interpretation of stress to a feeling of
being psyched up and challenged.
Rule Eight: Convert Negative Statements Into Positive
Ones
The tennis player who says to herself, "Don't miss this
backhand," can create problems with her negative instructions.
Negative instructions produce instantaneous mental images
that coincide with the directive. Such mental images increase
the chance of making the error about which the athlete
is warning herself. She should change the statement to,
"Stay focused. Prepare and execute."
As a general guideline for self-talk use two types of
statements: encouraging statements and instructional statements
that focus on skills. Encouraging statements bolster confidence.
"You can do it," "You're good," "You're a champ," are
examples of this type of inner dialogue. Self-talk that
focuses attention on performance skills provides the other
positive form of internal dialogue. A tennis player might
say to herself, "Stay focused," "Watch the ball," "Get
into position," and "Quick preparation."
Summary
Athletes cannot avoid stress. Pressure is part of the
fabric of competitive sports. Manageable levels of stress
add spice and excitement to the athletic life. Changing
self-talk changes stress level. Consistent application
of these guidelines creates new habits in inner dialogue,
habits that reduce unnecessary stress and anxiety and
that give players control over performance anxiety.
Removing performance stress opens the way for athletes
to demonstrate their talent. Mental skills enhance sports
performance. They allow athletes to perform more consistently
and to reveal more of their athletic potential.
Copyright © 2000 By Marie Dalloway All
Rights Reserved
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