The past 12+ months have caused a lot of uncertainty and instability, bringing on a lot of emotional distress. If you have had difficulty concentrating, experienced hopelessness or have felt anxious, nervous, frustrated or stressed out, you are not alone. And with an upcoming race on the schedule, you may find it difficult to get yourself into a place of positive thinking so that you can stay confident and focused under pressure. Instead, you may find yourself lacking self-belief due to irritational or distorted thinking.
To feel more optimistic and empowered, here are a few tips to help you get in a positive headspace before your upcoming event:
- Avoid energy suckers - it's not easy to deal with negative people who suck the energy from you and leave you feeling discouraged, upset and drained. Because you can't completely shut everyone out of your life (ex. acquaintances, family, co-workers), it's important to set boundaries and minimize contact in the days leading up to your race. If you are unable to get away from energy suckers, avoid participating in their negative conversation or try to divert the conversation completely.
- Avoid social media - a lot of time and emotional energy is wasted on social media. Obtaining a sense of self by comparing yourself with others can increase depressive symptoms, negative body image and poor self-esteem. Because social media tends to prioritize the "highlight reel" of the lives of other people, it's easy to slip into a negative state of mind by comparing yourself with others. It takes great discipline to not let social media steal your time and energy. Don't let social media drain your valuable energy that can be used on race day.
- Stay processed driven - many athletes view a race result as the primary indicator of whether or not you've had a successful race. Expending a lot of mental energy on an outcome will increase anxiety, nerves and pressure, because once you start thinking about results, you can't ever get your mind away from them. As a result, in order to deliver a certain result, you need to focus on that result. This outcome focus mindset puts all the energy into the end result but the paradox of outcome focus is that it can actually reduce your chance of having a great race. Why? Because you can never predict what will happen on race day. Ultimately, you are going to perform at your best when you focus on what you need to do to perform at your best.
- Welcome your pre-race jitters - pre-race butterflies are a normal part of racing. They help you focus and perform better because it means you are excited and amped-up to race. Embrace your pre-race jitters as this is your body's way of helping you feel prepared. Trust that once you get the race started, you will get into a state of flow, which allows you to stay calm, confident and focused. However, performance anxiety can make you physical sick to your stomach, worried, anxious, drained, exhausted and stressed - none of which will help you get into a good headspace before the race. Many times, pre-race anxiety or worry comes from a place of fear of failure. Worrying about what others may think, not meeting expectations, not feeling fully prepared, negative self-talk and focusing on an outcome or result will only put you into a negative state of mind before the race. Remind yourself that racing is fun and it's a celebration of training.
If you are in need of help: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. 1-800-273-8255