UNDERSTANDING SELF TALK Damon Burton & Bernie Holliday Vandal Sport Psychology Services University of Idaho

WHAT IS SELF TALK? The steady stream of on-going thoughts or internal dialogue that goes on in our minds constantly. Your self talk influences your moods, emotions, and ultimately your behavior. DQ 2: How constant is your self talk? Have you ever noticed a time when your self talk was really good or bad?

THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF SELF TALK… Rationality Trained minds learn to think more positively, logically, and systematically. Specificity Self talk becomes conditioned to success and failure events, changing dramatically based on the mindset created in particular situations. Automaticity Extensive repetition creates highly automatic thoughts, called beliefs. Automaticity of self talk is a two-edged sword when examining its impact on performance.

SELF TALK ABC’S… A = Activating Event B = Belief about the Event No Inherently stressful situations or events. “We are not disturbed by things, but by the views of which we take of them” – Epictetus B = Belief about the Event Athletes attach positive or negative meanings to neutral events based on their highly automatic belief system. C = Consequences Our beliefs about the event lead to positive or negative consequences, both emotionally and behaviorally. Thus, the meaning that we attach to events can positively or negatively impact our emotions, behaviors, and ultimately our performance.

DOES SELF TALK WORK? Self talk patterns have been shown to be important predictors of sport success. Positive self talk predominates in more effective performances, while negative thoughts more frequently accompany poorer performances. Van Raalte et al. (1994) tennis study Mental training packages that include self talk training as part of the intervention promote enhanced performance over 80% of the time.

REPROGRAMMING SELF TALK… Reactive versus proactive approaches to enhancing athletes’ self talk: Most athletes prefer proactive approaches to self talk reprogramming, rather than “old school” reactive approaches. The key to the proactive approach is to identify and create positive, facilitating thoughts (e.g., reprogramming) that can enhance athletes’ emotions and performance. Self talk scripts are effective thought reprogramming tools.

TYPES OF SELF TALK… Positive Affirmations Goals Appraisals Thoughts that focus on your desirable characteristics and qualities. Goals Thoughts that keep your mind positively focused on the task-at-hand, promote high effort, and enhance persistence. Appraisals Thoughts that determine the degree to which a situation is perceived as threatening or challenging. Self talk reprogramming promotes appraising problems as challenges or opportunities to learn and grow rather than threats and opportunities to fail.

TYPES OF SELF TALK… Attributions Cue Words Reasons or explanations of success and failure. Self talk reprogramming encourages performers to attribute success and failure to factors they can control and change, such as effort, ability, and degree of preparedness. Cue Words Quick reminders used during practice and competition. Keep the mind positively focused on process-oriented, present-focused reminders that should facilitate performance. DQ 3: Which type of self talk do you feel would be most effective?

USES OF SELF TALK… Elevate Motivation Enhance Focus/Concentration Intrinsic motivation occurs when athletes feel competent and in control. Self talk reprogramming should emphasize these factors. Enhance Focus/Concentration Self talk helps athletes focus on their priorities and goals, rather than on distractions. Manage Stress Controlling self talk, particularly limiting negative or self-defeating thoughts, helps to minimize the amount of stress athletes experience.

USES OF SELF TALK… Boost Self-Confidence Persuasive self talk can convince athletes that they possess the competence and preparation to be successful. Maximize Skill Development and Performance Cues and goals can help athletes remain focused on performance-relevant cues while disregarding and avoiding irrelevant distracter cues during skill development and performance.

“SMART TALK” COMMANDMENTS 1. Be an optimist, not a pessimist Self talk is a choice. Choose the “half full” option. See situations as challenges rather than threats. 2. Remain realistic and objective Think constructively, not just positively. 3. “Here-n-now” self talk Avoid “woulda, coulda, shoulda’s,” and “what if’s” 4. Process self talk leads to product 5. Concentrate self talk on controllable aspects Possibly the single most important factor. 6. Separate performance from self-worth We are not our performance. DQ 4: Which commandment do you have the most trouble with? Why?

HOW TO REPROGRAM SELF TALK… Focus on appropriate positive thoughts and repeat those thoughts frequently. Athletes are urged to develop self talk scripts that can target one or more specific needs (see slides 9-10) using a variety of self talk types (see slides 7-8) as well as the more general guidelines outlined by the “Smart Talk Commandments”. Scripts offer athletes a tool that can be used to reprogram positive self talk.

CORRECTING UNPRODUCTIVE THINKING… Extremely difficult to change negative thoughts due to their highly automatic nature. However, irrational beliefs and cognitive distortions are learned behaviors, so they can be unlearned.

DEALING WITH NEGATIVE THOUGHTS D1 = Detect Self-awareness of unconscious thought patterns. D2 = Detour Thought stopping. D3 = Dispute Reframing using counterarguments. E = New & more beneficial effects

DETECTING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS… Cognitive distortions are general types of faulty thinking. Irrational beliefs are more specific, but highly automated, negative thoughts that create behavioral and emotional problems for athletes.

COMMON COMPETITIVE COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS Catastrophizing Expecting the worst. Exaggerating the consequences. Overgeneralization Forming conclusions based on insufficient information. Blaming Not accepting responsibility for mistakes. Musturbation Must’s, should’s, and ought to’s. A form of concrete, inflexible, and unforgiving thinking. Polarized thinking Good or bad, right or wrong, succeed or fail, etc. Leaves little room for mistakes or being human.

COMMON COMPETITIVE IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Fear of Failure “It is terrible and unbearable when my game is not the way I want it to be.” Social Approval “I must win the approval of others and impress everyone who sees me perform.” Control-based irrational belief.

COMMON COMPETITIVE IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Perfectionism “I should be completely competent in every aspect of my game at all times, never have ups and downs, and never make mistakes.” The team that makes the most mistakes usually wins – Coach John Wooden’s philosophy on playing hard and mistakes. Mistakes are a normal and necessary part of learning. DQ 5: Which types of mistakes are more acceptable in sport, school, life?

COMMON COMPETITIVE IRRATIONAL BELIEFS Equity “Life should be fair and if I diligently work at my game, I should improve, play well, and get the rewards I deserve.” Life is not fair! Hard work increases your chances of success, but there are no guarantees. Social comparison “The behavior and performance of other competitors is extremely important to me and can destroy my game.” Cannot control others’ performances nor can they control your own performance.

DETOURING NEGATIVE THOUGHTS… Thought stopping uses intense internal cues such as a word, image, kinesthetic movement (e.g., snapping a rubber band), or some combination of cues. Stop the stream of negative thoughts as quickly as possible so you can begin focusing on reframing the situation.

COUNTERARGUMENTS TO DISPUTE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS Productive way to view the situation. Put your negative thoughts on trial. Argue why the negative belief is irrational and unproductive and provide a more logical and helpful view of the situation. Counterarguments are solutions, not cover-ups!!

PHASES OF SMART TALK TRAINING PROGRAM… Education Acquisition Practice Performance

EDUCATION PHASE General Education Personal education Understanding the mental training tool and how it relates to the athlete’s performance. Personal education Athlete’s self understanding of their self talk patterns. Two dimensions… Quantity -- negative thought count on Day 1. Quality -- complete Smart Talk Log for Days 1-6, assessing three positive and three negative situations as well as your predominate emotions and thoughts for each situation. Quality – rate your daily PMA from 1-10 for Days 1-6. Quality -- Develop counterarguments and believability ratings for each negative situation on Days 1-6.

ACQUISITION PHASE Stage 1: Reprogramming Self Talk Day 7 -- develop a self talk script using the Smart Talk Script Development Form and Handout. Your script should take no more than five minutes to read (2-4 minutes, ideally). You may record this onto an audio cassette or CD and include background music. Stage 2: Repetition to Automate Thoughts Days 7-12 -- read or play your script 4-5 times daily.

ACQUISITION PHASE Stage 3: Reframe Remaining Negative Thoughts Stage 4: Monitoring Improvement in Self Talk Patterns Days 7-12: Stages 3 and 4 can be accomplished by continuing to complete the Smart Talk Log, PMA rating, and counterarguments/belief ratings while noticing similarities and changes in self talk patterns. Day 12: Complete a second negative thought count to examine changes in negative thought quantity.

PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE PHASES… Stage 1: Advanced Self Talk Monitoring and Programming Day 13 onward: continue to monitor PMA daily. If PMA drops below 5, then identify problematic situations and develop counterarguments. If PMA drops below 5 for three straight days, then complete the Smart Talk Log Form for three subsequent days. Day 13 onward: continue to use script, but decrease the frequency to 2-3 times daily.

PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE PHASES… Stage 2: Video Recreation of Self Talk Patterns Video is an effective way to enhance recall of thoughts and feelings during critical competitive moments. Stage 3: Imagery Practice Day 13 onward: Develop a list of negative situations that you have difficulty reframing. Several times each week, imagine using your counterarguments during these moments to successful reframe these situations so you can perform your best.

PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE PHASES… Stage 4: Use Smart Talk in Practice and Competition Use the 3D reframing strategies to combat any remaining negative thoughts during practice and competition. Detect, detour, and dispute any remaining negative thoughts. Modify your script to reprogram these thoughts using more positive and helpful alternative statements.