John F. Murray, clinical and sports performance
psychologist:This week's tip: Eight
keys to successful mental performance
Quote: "Treat these mental skills the same
as physical skills. They cannot be ignored."
"After games, ask your self how you did in the
following areas:
"1. How confident were you? Did you believe in your
abilities? Did you have expectations of high
performance and success?
"2. How focused were you in your performance? Were
you distracted by a past play or fear of not winning
or not looking good?
"3. Did you have a purpose or goal? Did you know
what you trying to accomplish? How close did you
come to that goal? Was the goal specific?
"4. Did you keep your energy level in check? Did you
feel nice about the challenge? Or did you let anger
or other emotions get the best of you?
"5. Were you resilient? Did you bounce back from
adversity? Did you hang in there? How did you bounce
back when things got tough?
"6. Passion. How much fun did you have?
"7. How hard did you work today? Were you
disciplined? Have you practiced hard all week?
"8. Imagery. Did you imagine what you were going to
accomplish before you did it? Did you imagine
yourself playing well that day?
"If you rate yourself on these skills and find out
where you're lacking, focus on those skills next
game."
— David Fox
