Having a positive self-fulfilling prophecy is one of the most critical necessities for any professional athlete. In short, a self-fulfilling prophecy is the belief one possesses about his or her athletic skills and their assumption about how things will go once in competition.

The self-fulfilling prophecy not only plays a role in athletic events, but also in work situations, like a businessman conducting a presentation or an attorney trying to sway the jury. If you don’t believe in your own skill set to achieve positive results (regardless of the context), the odds of succeeding plummet.

32-year-old golfer Sergio Garcia, currently ranked the world’s 21st best, essentially sang to the world last week that he has a negative self-fulfilling prophecy. Before teeing off in the final round of the Masters, Garcia said, “I’m not good enough [to win a major]. In 13 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to play for second or third place.” This was an astonishing thing for golf fans to hear even though he receives constant criticism for always contending but never winning at the majors (he has three 2nd place finishes in majors).

Either Sergio Garcia is playing a game of reverse psychology on the media and other golfers by saying he can’t win or he has a serious lack of self-confidence. Golfers often come out of nowhere to win major tournaments, so why does he think he truly isn’t good enough?

Let’s face it; Garcia is well equipped to win a major. But if he ever actually wins one, he needs to believe that he can. It all starts from within. If he continues to believe that he can’t win before he hits a shot in the first round, he’s right – he’ll never win one. But if he develops a positive self-fulfilling prophecy and can picture himself holding up the trophy on Sunday afternoon, then he will win. Don’t doubt yourself when there is no reason to! See and believe the positive outcome, go through the rhythmic process, and the rest will fall right into place.

Sports Psychology/Mental Training from Mental Apex

Last week, Bill Haas beat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in a two-hole playoff to win the 2012 Northern Trust Open. Although it was Haas’ steady play throughout the week that allowed him to have the chance at victory, it was his mental thinking and preparation that really put the trophy in his hands.

When Haas made his par on the 18th hole during the final round, he had the clubhouse lead at 7 under. There were only two players who could catch him – Mickelson and Bradley. To do so, one of them would have to birdie the difficult 18th hole (which had only yielded six birdies all day). The odds that one of them would birdie were very unlikely; both of them making birdie would have been nearly impossible.

Despite the odds, Haas knew he couldn’t get ahead of himself and assume they wouldn’t make birdie. In fact, as Mickelson and Bradley were teeing off on 18 and Haas had the lead to himself, an interviewer asked him what his mindset was. His response: “My mindset is that both of them are probably going to birdie 18 and I have got to be prepared for a playoff here. I just have to execute good golf shots.”

Sure enough, both of them birdied, he entered the three-man playoff, and won.

This example speaks to the importance of expecting the unexpected and assuming the worst outcome. Deep down, Haas knew that the odds of them both making birdie was very unlikely, but he had to prepare his mind and body for more holes. He couldn’t let himself think for a second that he had won the tournament because it wasn’t over. He couldn’t let their play on the final hole impact his approach and play.

This is a lesson all golfers (and other athletes) can learn from. Not letting the play of your competitors get in your own head is a difficult, yet valuable ability. Regardless of whether the gap is widening or closing in between you and your competitors, it is essential to only focus on executing your own play. As soon as you begin to compare your play with the play of your competition, you are doomed.

Another important thing we can learn from Haas’ situation is that whatever the situation, it’s beneficial to expect your opponent to do the unexpected. If you can mentally prepare yourself for such outcomes, you will be able to more effectively and calmly execute your own processes.

Sports Psychology/Mental Training from Mental Apex

This past week the PGA Tour made its annual trip to the Monterey Peninsula for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. This unique tournament offers the opportunity for amateur golfers to play alongside the PGA Tour professionals. These amateur golfers included the likes of Tony Romo, George Lopez, Ray Romano, and Bill Murray. As fun as this tournament is year after year, it requires the PGA players to focus and concentrate even more because of the increased distractions. This was how Phil Mickelson, one of the most skilled at concentration, was able to pull out a tournament win.

There are three main components to concentration – attention, sustained attention, and sizing up of the situation.

Attention is selectively focusing on relevant environmental cues. There are many distractions during this tournament, but by focusing one’s attention to the meaningful surroundings, one’s concentration improves.

The second component, sustained attention, is all about maintaining this attentional focus. The reason Phil is so mentally strong is because he is able to maintain a high level of focus over the course of a five-hour round of golf. Try to increase your focus little by little and see if your performance improves.

Sizing up the situation is the final component to concentration. Athletes must understand the situation. For example, a basketball player at the end of the game must ignore the distractions of the fans, trash talk, and referees, but must still be aware of the score, the time remaining, the number of timeouts, and so on. Understanding the situation is what Phil Mickelson does on the golf course every day. Coming down the stretch on Sunday, he knew exactly what to do to execute his shots for an impressive win.

Concentrating is not an easy thing to do and it takes practice, but if you can try to hone in on these three components, your concentration will improve!

Sports Psychology/Mental Training from Mental Apex

Trade speculation surrounded Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Pau Gasol during the off-season and has continued into regular season play. Despite all the rumors going around, Gasol remains focused solely on his performance, while ignoring the things that are out of his control, like a trade. Gasol’s approach has allowed him to remain successful on the court even though he is unsure of which team he will eventually play for.
Even though most amateur athletes do not face front office threats that could result in them switching teams without consent, many athletes do face similar problems.
A more relatable problem is when a coach fails to give a player the playing time he or she is expecting. Even though they may strongly disagree with the coach’s decision, it’s something that is out of their control and must ultimately deal with. Giving up, quitting, and complaining are easy, but counterproductive solutions. A better solution is to do what Pau Gasol does – show determination, bring high energy in practice, and excel when the playing opportunities come.
Make it impossible for your coach to not play you. Prove to your coach that you deserve a bigger role on your team. Do the little things that you can control like Gasol does in order to prove to the Lakers front offices that he deserves to be a mainstay on the Lakers roster.

Sports Psychology/Mental Training from Mental Apex