Ahead of the Game: How to Use Your Mind to Win in Sport

Summary of the Questions To Ask When Setting Goals
Here are a series of questions which can act as a summary of how to set goals. Whenever you set a goal, ask yourself, or better still get your sports coach or mental skills coach to ask you, these questions:
Stated in the positive.
What specifically do you want?
Specify present situation.
Where are you now?
Specify outcome.
What will you see, hear, feel, etc., when you have it?
Specify evidence procedure.
How will you know when you have it?
Is it congruently desirable?
What will this outcome get for you or allow you to do?
Is it self-initiated and self-maintained?
Is it only for you?
Is it appropriately contextualised?
Where, when, how, and with whom do you want it?
What resources are needed?
What do you have now, and what do you need to get your outcome?
Have you ever had or done this before?
Do you know anyone who has?
Can you act as if you have it?
Is it ecological?
For what purpose do you want this?

As well as being what is important to us, values also normally determine what we spend our time, effort and energy doing. So examples of sport values could be:
Winning
Improving
Being part of a team
Doing your best
Standing out from the crowd
Creativity
Hard work
Being the hero
Being the unsung hero
Fun
Challenge

Performance goals are more under the control of the athlete than outcome goals. In order to achieve the performance goal of 9.75 seconds, he would need to have some ‘process’ goals to keep in mind.

Performance goals are, as the name suggests, goals which are about our performance, not the result, and these goals are normally within our control.

Outcome goals are the ‘big picture’, the ‘ultimate goal’, for example, to win the Olympic Gold medal. With the best will in the world, to achieve such an outcome is something which is often outside our control. We could run the best race of our lives, yet if there is someone better, stronger, faster, then we may not achieve our goal, especially where the sport is non-contact such as athletics or golf. That’s why we need performance goals.

Within the sporting world it is generally accepted that there are three types of goals:
Outcome goals
Performance goals
Process goals

Whether you are a player or a coach, operate from the principles of success.
Always start with the goal in mind.
Notice whether you’re on track to get the results you want.
Be flexible enough to change if you are not on track.
Take action!
Learn and operate from the NLP presuppositions – they work!
Notice when you are ‘at cause’ and ‘at effect’. Whenever you are ‘at effect’, ask yourself how you can move to being ‘at cause’.

Yes, maybe performances have been under our normal standards lately, maybe the referee has always seemed to favour our opponents, maybe the other team has more money to spend, maybe it is really windy. And? Who is in charge of our mind and how we respond to situations? WE ARE! As a mental skills coach, are you ‘at cause?’ Do you make excuses?

Summary of the Key NLP Presuppositions for Sport
Have respect for the other person’s point of view.
The meaning and outcome of communication is in the response you get.
There is no failure, just feedback.
Flexibility rules, OK!
People have all the resources that they need to make the changes they want.
Behaviour is always useful.
Modelling excellence leads to improved performance.
The mind and body affect each other.
The ‘map’ is not the ‘territory’.
Change can be quick, easy and lasting.

Yes, people may behave in ways which seem ridiculous to on-lookers and even to themselves in the cold light of day, yet if we can bear in mind that all behaviours have a positive intention for that person, it helps us to have compassion for people when they appear to be acting in ways that are annoying to others – they’re just doing the best they know how. Please consider that their present behaviour is the best choice they believe is available, and has a positive intent for them. Why would anyone do anything that wasn’t the best choice they believed they had available at the time?
It follows then that a person’s behaviour is not who they are. Accept the person. Support and assist them to change their behaviour. Equally, if the person you are thinking about is yourself, you can be a bit more patient and understanding with this approach.