Although top competitors are inevitably physically talented, in many cases the most talented competitor doesn't win. The reason is that mental preparation is just as important to performance in sports and exercise as physical preparation. Sport and exercise psychologists take advantage of principles of psychology to improve athletic performance. These skills can be taken off the field and used in business, personal relationships, and other areas of life that require discipline and focus.
Definition of Exercise and Sport Psychology
According to the American Psychological Association, sport and exercise psychology--often referred to simply as "sport psychology"-- is the study of the psychological factors that influence participation in exercise and sports, and are influenced by such participation, as well as the uses of this knowledge off the playing field.
Setting Goals
Goal setting is one of the most important endeavors in sport psychology. Effective goal setting leads to an increase in the intensity and longevity of motivation. When setting personal athletic goals, you should follow the SMART formula, according to Psychologist Edwin Locke, professor emeritus of leadership and motivation at the R.H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. SMART goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. SMART goals are concrete enough to allow you to know when you have achieved them, and are structured to provide you with constant encouraging feedback. You can apply SMART goals to nearly any competitive or challenging activity in life.
Mental Practice
Mental practice is "repeating a certain task or event over and over in your mind until you've got it exactly right," according to psychologist Steven Ungerleider, Ph.D. One of the advantages of mental practice is that injured athletes can perform it. Even healthy athletes, however, can perform mental practice far more often than their bodies will allow them to perform physical practice. Scientific evidence has verified that you can use mental practice to produce measurable results even without physical training, according to Coaching Science Abstracts.
Performance Orientation
Set performance goals rather than outcome goals, because these type of goals give you maximum control over achievement. An example of a performance goal would be "run a mile in 4:30," while an example of an outcome goal would be "win the gold medal at the Pan-American Games," according to mindtools.com.
Flow
The term "flow" was coined by Susan Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1996. It is used to describe a state of ideal performance in which you are completely absorbed in your activity and playing at your best without self-consciousness, stress or doubt. Although achieving a state of flow is one of the primary goals of sport psychology, it can be utilized in nearly any challenging endeavor.
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