How to get a mental edge over the competition

While many people are quick to attribute being a superior athlete to simple physical progress, one thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is the mental component of the thing. Physically you can be the best athlete there is, but if you mentally fall apart when the time comes, you’re not going to win any races, games, or competitions any time soon.

Getting a mental edge on your competition is one of the key factors in being in their shoes for success, so this is something you should be training for as well.

Let’s look at some of the key points to keep in mind about how you can put yourself on top from a mindset standpoint.

practice visualizations

One of the absolute best techniques to use as a hard training athlete is mental visualizations. For these, you are going to find a quiet place where you can sit or lie down and then close your eyes and imagine doing your best.

When you actually ‘see’ yourself doing this in your mind, your level of confidence that you can actually do it will increase and it will be more likely to happen in real life.

Also, since your mind actually controls all the movement patterns you perform, by rehearsing the mental element of execution, you can also improve your performance.

The mind is a very powerful tool and when yours is in the right place and with confidence, your body will function much better. You can also use these visualizations to see yourself overcoming obstacles, so it can help in that regard as well.

Disconnect from distractions

The next thing you need to do to outperform your competition is to tune out the distractions. Before a big game or race, go somewhere where it’s very quiet where you can focus on what you need to do.

Some athletes will listen to music that serves to motivate them and get them in the mood to work hard. Do what is right for you, but try to focus on you and your body. The fewer distractions around you, the easier it will be to do.

Use Motivational Devices

Finally, consider using motivational devices to gain a mental edge over your competitors. This could be watching videos of featured athletes for inspiration or simply re-reading your own personal goals and self-drive statements.

Or maybe you have inspirational quotes that you need to read to remind yourself of certain things that will help you stay focused and perform your best.

Try a few different things and see what works best for you. As silly as some of these may sound, they can really help.

So make sure you don’t neglect the mental aspect of your game. It really is critical to your success.