Talking Myself Into It

I never wanted to be in the position to fall off in a meet five times again (especially as a level 10). The last couple of posts I shared what I did to begin this transition: find a goal, find someone to emulate, and visualize. The next thing that I did was talk to myself more positively.

I constantly reminded myself how terrible I was at competing on beam. I would have a good practice and think either, “too bad I’m not going to compete that way” or “I hope I can compete that way.” Either way, it wasn’t positive.

Over the years, I have learned that the way we talk to ourselves is surely the way that we are going to treat ourselves, and almost guaranteed it’s the way that we will end up.

When I was telling myself that it was too bad that I wouldn’t compete that way, I was setting myself up for failure. I was telling myself that I didn’t believe in myself, that if I miraculously stayed on the beam, it would be some miracle and completely out of the ordinary.

Or when I told myself that I hope I can compete that way, I was giving myself an “out.” I was leaving it up to some imaginary beam god to keep me on the beam. Again, a miracle.

What I found, however, while I was emulating my nonchalant friend, that I was transforming. When I was acting like I wasn’t afraid anymore, I was becoming less afraid. Yes, beam was still a bit scary, but it wasn’t the most scary thing in the world and all I could think about anymore. I was telling myself that I wanted to look and act like my friend up there, and I was transforming into what I was intending to become.

I started using this same concept and applying it to my attitude when it came to competition. Instead of telling myself that I won’t compete that way, I began to tell myself that I would compete that way. With repetition, I began to believe it over time, and when the next meet came, I didn’t have to leave anything up to chance; I was in charge. I stayed on the beam!

I didn’t stay on the beam every meet all at once, but I did get progressively better. I would fall one or two times tops, and afterwards, I knew that I could get myself to do better.

When we pigeonhole ourselves in our minds and tell ourselves that we know we will fail, we will inevitably fail. If we begin the process of developing a positive mental attitude, then we can begin to form what it is we want our world to look like.

Over time, I became a positive, confident beam competitor.

Join the Facebook group that is creating a NEW gymnastics culture, one gymnast at a time.