Athletes: Stop using 'always'

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Do any of these thoughts sound familiar?

  • I always have insomnia

  • I always hit the wall at X point in my competition

  • I always feel stressed when I'm around this person

  • I always hate my job

  • I always feel sick when I am in bulk phase and trying to eat all of my meals

  • I always sleep badly before a race

  • I always have high anxiety before a race

The problem with always is threefold:

  1. You're really strengthening unhelpful neuropathways e.g. stress, anxiety, dislike, hit the wall

  2. You create memories (whether true or not) in which your only response to this person/situation is this unhelpful one. This means when you come up against the person/situation in the future your brain will only respond in this unhelpful way - because you always do it, right?

  3. You’re creating a reality in which you always have these unhelpful responses

So every time you use ‘always’ and connect it with an unhelpful response, you’re unconsciously and unintentionally programming your brain to respond in this way.

What’s more, is that your brain will highlight to you all of the evidence showing you that you do indeed always respond this way, further reinforcing the belief that you always respond in this way - even though it’s not true. There will always be at least one second in which you respond more helpfully.

So what can you do?

Watch your thoughts and make sure you stop every ‘always’.

When you have an unhelpful always thought come in, say pause or stop, and swap it for something more powerful and positive. For example:

  • STEP 1: Hear thought: ‘I always have high anxiety before a race’

  • STEP 2: Say: Stop or Pause (you can see a stop sign or pause button if that helps you stop the thought in its track)

  • STEP 3: Think a powerful, positive thought instead: ‘I feel calm and relaxed about my race’ (for added power, visualise yourself in the present tense going through the night before and race calm and relaxed)

Make sure you catch every always and swap it for something more performance/life-enhancing to start re-wiring your brain for epic performance and happiness. This will take you further towards your goal, instead of further away from your goal and living your best athlete life.

Use ‘always’ to your advantage

Having said all that… you can use ‘always’ to your advantage, by connecting ‘always’ to a HELPFUL response.

This means you’re wiring your brain so your ideal response is your default, e.g. ‘I always sleep super well’ will program your brain for better sleep.

Remember, your brain can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s made up, so when you say ‘I always sleep super well’ whether it’s true or not, you’ll activate the neuropathways for great sleep.

How will stopping to use ‘always’ transform your performance? Tell me in the comments below!

Adelaide

P.S. Ready to take your performance to the next level? Here are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Apply for a free 30 minute call to discuss your ultimate performance goal and how to get there. Apply now by clicking here.


2. Read one of my most popular blogs: Why it’s a bad idea to repeat phrases that mention things you want to stop doing and/or feeling.


3. Follow me on Instagram (@adelaidegoodeve) for daily free brain hacks