A lot of the literature out there about how to mentally improve your athletic performance revolves around the use of positive thinking and visualization.  Essentially the idea is that by imagining and visualizing a positive out come (i.e. sending) you are actually removing the doubts and negative thoughts that may be inhibiting your performance.  However, while positive thinking definitely has its benefits, what if too much of it actually has a negative affect?

To explore this topic a bit more, here’s an article by climber, author, and coach Don McGrath that examines how too much positive thinking can undermine performance and then proposes another mental thought process that may be more productive.

“Oettinger says that a number of studies that she and her colleagues have performed showed that fantasizing about happy outcomes in a number of different contexts ranging from weight loss, to finding a job, to surgical outcomes, to dating didn’t help achieve what was desired. In fact it hindered people.” – Don McGrath

Click through below to read the whole article and learn more about this other thought process called “mental contrasting.”  While mental shifts like these won’t make you any stronger, they can have a huge impact on performance and may just be what you a missing.  Give it a look!

Click Here: Don McGrath – Too Much Positive Thinking?

(photo courtesy of Stephanie Hsie | @mineralpursuits)

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