In different sports such as golf and cricket, athletes can be placed in situations where they have a lot of thinking time. Too much thinking time for some! Due to their high level of motivation, focus of attention, fatigue, emotions and many other factors this thinking time can create havoc in their minds. As a result, indecision, fear and self-doubt can take over.

In today’s episode, Dr James Hegarty, co-author of the book ACT in Sport: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment shares some ideas on how athletes can help themselves so that they don’t view this thinking time as a negative and are effective in how they get mentally ready. Psychological flexibility is at the heart of our discussion.

Key Learning Points:

• All athletes can get caught out thinking ahead predicting future events.
• As humans, athletes also can easily dwell on past mistakes.
• Developing psychological flexibility is a hugely beneficial skill to have in your armoury as an athlete.
• Athletes should practice basic mindfulness of the breath to build a foundation.
• Cricketers can focus on sensations of the sun or cold wind on their face after dropping a catch to refocus.
• Mindfulness allows athletes to step away from over-analysing mistakes and get their head back in the game.
• My challenge for May 2024 is to see if I can dial in and be mindful at least 100 times per golf round of golf I play! I’ll report on how I get on.

Connect with Dr James Hegarty

Website

Email: james@hegartyconsulting.co.nz

Book – ACT in Sport: Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment

Connect with David Charlton

Sign Up to The Mental Edge

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Podcasts Episodes Connect to ACT and Mindfulness

Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

Ep099: Trevor Jones – How to Deal with Overthinking on the Golf Course

Ep124: Dr Keagan Hadley – Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions

Ep205: Dr Carl Bescoby – Rehabilitation And Returning To Sport: How To Support Injured Athletes

Ep235: Trevor Jones - How To Use ACT To Improve Your Coaching In Sport #BITESIZE

Many athletes, golfers or people in everyday life take their thoughts too seriously. They then get caught up overthinking and it causes havoc with their decision making. In golfing terms, paralysis by analysis can take over, when the pressure is on and the result is often poor shots and missed putts. And lots of frustration!

In this episode, Trevor Jones a PGA Professional Golf Coach and Mental Performance Coach and I chat about this topic where he shares as a coach how he uses Acceptance Commitment Therapy or Training (ACT) to help golfers and other athletes deal with these challenges.

Key Learning Points:

• Feeling confident on every shot is unrealistic.
• All humans experience self-doubt.
• We all can get ahead of ourselves or get caught out dwelling on past mistakes.
• Nurturing psychological flexibility is very helpful tool to have in your toolkit.
• A challenge for you, seek to integrate mindfulness into your everyday life.

Connect with Trevor Jones

Instagram

Watch Professor Steven C Hayes discussing performance psychology from an ACT perspective with Trevor Jones

Website | Aware Performance Group LLC

Connect with David Charlton

Sign Up to The Mental Edge

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen To Golf Related Podcast Episodes To Help You

Ep099: Trevor Jones – How to Deal with Overthinking on the Golf Course

Ep167: Karl Morris – How To Manage Your Emotions To Improve Your Golf

Ep228: Gio Valiante – Lessons From Overconfident Golfers That Can Help You Perform Better

For More Resources so You Can Shoot Lower Scores on The Golf Course

Golfers Mental Scorecard

Golf Psychology FAQs

Golf Blogs

Golf Podcasts

Podcasts Episodes Connect to ACT and Mindfulness

Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

Ep124: Dr Keagan Hadley – Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions

EP136: Charlotte Potts – Overcoming Tough Times in Professional Women’s Football and Bouncing Back Stronger

How often in sport do you see an athlete make the wrong decision under pressure? Often I’d say! Even at the highest level in elite professional sport. Indecision, overthinking, paralysis by analysis, having too much time to think of the consequences, a lack of trust in skills or fear are often the reasons for poor decision making.

In this short bite-sized episode, Paul Phillips an author and culture developer and I discuss overthinking in sport where we share some helpful tips so that you can deal better with pressure in the moment.

Key Learning Points:

• Helping athletes generate behaviours before thoughts and emotions is a helpful skill.
• James Clear’s two-minute rule in the book Atomic Habits is a useful approach to take when you are feeling indecisive.
• In rugby the size of an opponent can trigger fear responses, overthinking and poor decision making.
• Visual, kinaesthetic and auditory cues and triggers are helpful in overcoming fear,
• Using metaphors such as images of animals or superhero’s is a helpful trigger for adults and children.
• Spending time with process training, practicing and rehearsing pre-shot and pre-performance routines are hugely beneficial.

Connect with Paul Phillips

LinkedIn

Book: How to Create Culture: In Rugby Union

Connect with David Charlton

Sign Up to The Mental Edge

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen to Podcasts To Help Overthinkers

Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

Ep161: Paul Phillips – How to Create a Culture of High Performance in Professional Rugby Union

Ep221: Jeremy Snape - How To Use Pre Performance Routines When The Pressure Is On

Ep224: Aaron Walsh - How To Help Professional Rugby Players Perform Better Under Pressure

Helpful Resources For The Overthinker

Blog - Overthinking on the Rugby Pitch

Blog - Do You Start Matches with a ONE-NIL DOWN Mindset?

Blog - 7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Bowl Every Delivery

Blog - Is Your Head Focused On The Right Things

How to Trust Your Skills When You’re a Goalkeeper