I feel the pangs of excitement whenever I sense a juicy competition, be it in sport or otherwise. And it should be that way because that’s a great reason to love sport - a chance to test yourself against others.

Anxiety is a normal human emotion in the face of a threat. It is a state of high arousal and a feeling of discomfort. Anxiety has its benefits. In sport it can help you to succeed by motivating you to beat your opponent - if you’re are afraid of failure you might push yourself harder. But too much anxiety can get in the way of your success. If you are too anxious you might get distracted, make mistakes or even give up.

One way to keep track of how anxiety may be affecting your performance is to monitor your self-talk. Self talk is the thoughts and beliefs that you have about yourself. It can bring you up or drag you down. It can be a distraction or it can help you focus on an aspect of your game plan or technique.

Consider the difference between feeling anxious and thinking “oh no, I’m nervous, I’m not sure if I can do this” and “I feel anxious, but that’s normal, it means my body and mind are ready”.

Let’s do a practical exercise - take a moment to try to recall in your mind a time when you felt really nervous and anxious.

Perhaps it was just before a big competition. Perhaps it was during a competition when the attention and pressure was on.

Recall how your body felt. Perhaps you noticed things like rapid heart rate, sweating, shaking, shallow fast breathing, racing thoughts, butterflies, nausea, or needing to go to the toilet. Some people become quiet, others talk a lot, some yawn and some get very restless. These are all normal signs of nerves or anxiety.

Now try to recall any thoughts or beliefs you had at the time. Often when we are anxious we think worried thoughts, negative or unhelpful thoughts or extreme thoughts. Perhaps you are thinking “Don’t stuff this up”, or “My competitors look so strong, how can I possibly beat them?”

Maybe you were thinking about an injury and worried you wouldn’t hold up. Maybe you were worried you wouldn’t be able to stand the pain. Maybe deep down you believed that you were not really good enough or that everything was riding on that one event, or that if you failed it’d prove you really are a loser.

These are all common beliefs held by athletes.

On that occasion how did you perform?

Did the anxiety affect your performance in some way?

Now try to absorb yourself in a different way of thinking and a new set of beliefs. Start by challenging some of those old thoughts.

Ask yourself:

Does my anxiety sometimes drag me down?
Do I worry that I’m not good enough?
Do I focus on the negative or blow things out of proportion sometimes?
Would a different way of thinking help me perform better?
What happened last time I worried about this?
Was it better than I thought it would be?
What is the evidence for and against my worried thoughts?
What is the likelihood that my fears will come true?

Focus in specifically on whatever you need to feel less anxious about and what specifically you need to say to yourself to achieve a positive frame of mind.

Here are some examples of helpful self-talk. Chose the ones that relate to you and spend some time repeating them in your mind:

I have trained hard.
I am strong.
All I can expect of myself is to do my best at this point in time.
I can only expect what is reasonable.
I am improving all the time.
There’s lots of evidence that I’m a highly skilled athlete.
My body is recovering well.
I can find the way to beat my competitors.
I have strengths they lack.
I can push through the pain.

Now, take a moment to bring to mind the memory of a time you performed well.

Picture how you looked. Recall how it felt in your body.

When things were going right for you what could you see, hear, smell, taste and feel? What went through your mind? As you imagine these things and think these thoughts, you might start to feel more confident and strong.

Now ask yourself: What are my technical goals right now? What do I need to focus on in my training and competition? Focusing on winning or success can make you more anxious and distract you from how you are going to get there.

Reduce your anxiety by thinking about a specific goal. Talk to yourself calmly and positively about what you need to do each moment with respect to your own performance.

This reinterpretation of feelings of anxiety and deliberate focus on the process of playing your sport can raise feelings of readiness, resolve and determination.

My favourite reminder - You’re not asking yourself to do anything you can’t do.

(You might like to try a MP3 tool on Managing Arousal and Anxiety in Sport or Self-Talk in Sport ).

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