| Introduction: How many thoughts do we have each day?
(I won’t you tell you the answer to this, but it’s a lot!)
Here, I offer some sort of token reward, like a bobble head or hockey tape, for the kid with the closest guest.
Question 1: How many words do we say each day?
I offer a small prize here as well.
Then, I point out we spent 4x as much time talking to ourselves than we do talking to others. Thats why self-talk is so important!
I go on to explain the idea of Mental Fitness as a muscle that we can train just like any other muscle in our bodies.
Next, we talk about the seven toxic phrases. The analogy here is that just like when someone consumes junk food, they feel tried and sluggish, if we allow ourselves to consumer junk thoughts, our performance will follow that as well.
But just like we can control what foods we can consume, so can we control what thoughts we consume!
From there, we dive into the 7 toxic phrases
– I can’t (do this drill)
– I need (to be as good as someone else)
– makes me (the coaches makes me upset)
– should/ shouldn’t (that’s unfair)
– always/ never (self-fulfilling prophecy)
– have to (creating a mental burden)
– happens to me (perpetuating victim thinking)
I then go on to explain why these phrases are performance-killers and how they can be corrected in one’s own head.
I use examples from athletes like Sidney Crosby, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Jim Abbot, Wayne Gretzky, Andrew McCutcheon, and Serena Williams.
Lastly, we end with an acronym for fail (first attempt in learning) and the importance of “I am” statements.
I then have each athlete write out an empowering “I am” statement in their journal.
I conclude with “the biggest predictor of anyone’s success is their belief in themselves. How you talk to yourself will make all the difference!”
And that’s it. That’s whole presentation!
Quick and digestible with lots of practical take-aways and tips.
If your team or organization may be interested in a Mental Fitness Chalk Talk, feel free to reach out to us. |
