How Coaches Can Train Athletes to Think Positively
The positive illusion mindset is one of the most important mindset orientations of elite athletes. As I wrote recently, the positive illusion mindset is what allows elite athletes to maintain their motivation as they train for 10,000 hours over 10 years.
As stated in the Journal of Sport Psychology by authors Peter Catina, Ph.D. and Seppo Iso-Ahola, Ph.D.,
The term positive illusion represents three cognitive characteristics: self-aggrandizement, illusion of control, and unrealistic optimism…
…Positive illusions allow people to maintain positive and optimistic views of themselves and their future while simultaneously learning from and making use of negative feedback in an adaptive manner.
Research suggests that the positive illusion mindset increases performance. Moreover, research also suggest that athletes can train their minds to use this mindset to increase performance.
How Coaches Can Train Athletes to use the Positive Illusion Mindset
To train the positive illusion mindset, coaches must help athletes develop a “positive view of the self and an elevated belief in personal control” as suggested in the research paper A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Positive Illusions and Sport Performance by Catina, Swalgin, Knjaz, and Fosnes.
In other words, to train the positive illusion mindset coaches must have a training program that builds two things:
- Self-esteem
- Locus of Control
1) Building an Athlete’s Self-Esteem
Self-Esteem is a product of standards and expectations. If you have low standards and low expectations, it’s easier to build your self-esteem than when you have high standards and high expectations.
This is why so many elite athletes have low self-esteem. Elite athletes have extremely high standards and expectations. Therefore, the instinctive way to increase their self-esteem is to either lower their standards or lower their expectations. Unquestionably, that would be counterproductive. Elite athletes motivate themselves because of their standards and expectations, as well as their drive to exceed standards and expectations. It would be crazy to fix a self-esteem problem by reducing motivation.
So, when an athlete is facing a self-esteem issue debilitating performance, the problem-solving process should not focus on self-esteem. Instead, the focus must be on shifting their mindset from being ego oriented to task oriented.
Shifting from the Ego Mindset to the Task Mindset
When an athlete’s ego dominates their mindset, increasing self-esteem is insatiable. The only way an athlete will learn to like themselves more and value their journey in a way that boost self-esteem is to let go of the outcomes of competition and focus on what it means to be a competitor.
Competitors have the ultimate task mindset. As a result, if you want to help an elite athlete eliminate their ego, focus on helping them be a better competitor.
The most important trait of a competitor is that they don’t view tough competition as their enemy. On the contrary, competitors view tough competition as the next best thing to a best friend. Easy wins over unworthy competitors provide 1) little to no experience, 2) no opportunity to practice advanced skills, and 3) expose none of the things one must work on to get better. These three categories motivate competitors immensely.
In addition, these three categories are also what those with a task mindset use to feed their self-esteem. With this in mind, an effective way to make the shift from the ego to task mindset is to use these three categories for goal setting.
For every outcome goal an athlete has, help them create 3 to 5 process and performance goals to go with it. Each goal will then focus on the three aforementioned categories: 1) experience, 2) skill development, and 3) fixing mistakes. In addition, each goal must be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time bound) so they can be measured, tracked, and celebrated when achieved.
2) Building an Athlete’s Locus of Control
Locus of control is a term to describe the mindset of how an individual perceives cause and effect. If someone has an external locus of control, they view cause and effect through the lens of fairness, luck, chance, and other external factors. On the other hand, if they have an internal locus of control, they view cause and effect through the lens of effort, strategy, and resilience.
Research suggests that those with an internal locus of control perform better under pressure and respond better to adversity than those who don’t. This is because those with an external locus of control tend to worry more and miss opportunities. They worry more because they don’t believe the process is under their control and external factors will dictate their success. They miss opportunities because they lack an understanding of the factors under their control that lead to opportunity.
As Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote nearly 2000 years ago:
You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
To shift an athlete from an external to an internal locus of control, coaches must help athletes develop in four areas:
1. Reframing
- To reframe how the athlete views their competitive advantages and their competition to things they control.
- To reframe how the athlete views the factors impacting their preparation, teammates, and coaching to things they control.
2. Self-Talk
- To change how the athlete talks to themself as they experience positive training pain, adversity, and failure.
- To change how the athlete talks to themself about negative feedback.
3. Emotional Intelligence
- To build self-awareness around what they athlete wants and how they control the process of achieving it.
- To improve all aspects of how the athlete controls their emotions in public and in private.
4. Growth Mindset
- To change the athlete’s mindset to believe that the innate abilities and talents they were born with are just the starting point, and that they are in control of the process of getting better.
- To put the athlete’s experiences in the context of growth so they can better learn from prior successes and failures and apply what they learn to the process of getting better.