Watch Your Inner Voice

Guidelines for Internal Dialogue

by Marie Dalloway, Ph.D.

We all talk to ourselves, sometimes aloud, but usually silently. We give ourselves mental pats on the back, berate ourselves at times, and psych ourselves up for all sorts of situations. Learning what champions tell themselves, how they perceive difficulties as challenging rather than fearful, can help the rest of us.

Staying cool in the tight spots allows for greater risk taking and for better performance. Champions have a mental edge. They perceive situations in a 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 race car drivers and others in high risk sports learn to follow specific guidelines for internal dialogue, they experience pressure situations as less stressful. The methods for controlling internal dialogue come from understanding how champions talk to themselves. The analysis of the self-talk of champions forms a set of guidelines. They describe how to alter your perceptions of a situation in an advantageous way, which includes what to avoid.

Guidelines About Self-Talk to Avoid

Rule One: Avoid Thinking That Leads To Worry Or Anxiety
Individuals who perform inconsistently, especially those who perform poorly in the face of risk and pressure, have self-talk which is centered on being afraid ("I'm afraid of losing," "I'm afraid of letting others down.") or on doubting their ability ("I can't do it," "I haven't had enough experience on this type of track").

Rule Two: Avoid Thinking About Past Failures
Thinking about losses, poor showings, or mishaps from the past creates a negative thought process, one likely to create high stress. If you have a race at a site where you experienced a particularly disappointing outcome, keep your mind away from replaying that past event. Reviewing past disappointments or failures prior to a competition charges the current event with stress and lowers the chance of your performing to 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 race (or don't qualify ), I'm not any good;" or "If I don't place, I'll feel worthless."

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. Many athletes do not consider this a negative mental habit. They view their self-talk as an objective appraisal of their chances of success.

Considering odds of success frequently undermines confidence and produces higher levels of stress due to thinking that creates an expectation for losing. Therefore, directly before or during a race, avoid thinking about the other drivers in the field, their driving experience and history of wins, 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 competitors.

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

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.

As a general guideline for self-talk use two types of statements: encouraging statements and instructional statements that focus on skills. These, and only these types of statements, are the content of the internal dialogue of champions during performances.

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 driver might say to herself, "Stay focused," "Get into position," and "Smooth turns."

Summary

Athletes cannot avoid stress. Athletes in high risk sports, such as race car driving and high altitude climbing, court the pressures from life-jeopardizing situations that are beyond the tolerance of most individuals. Pressure is part of the fabric of high risk sports sports. Manageable levels of stress add spice and excitement to the sports 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 drivers control over performance anxiety, even in risky situations.

Marie Dalloway, a sport psychologist and writer in Phoenix, Arizona, has written five books on mental training in sports.

Phone: (602) 274-1889
Fax: (602) 274-0466
Email: dalloway@getnet.com