Helen Davis explains how to control your inner voice by thinking smartly

Helen Davis

SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

WHAT DOES THE VOICE SAY INSIDE YOUR HEAD?

If you could listen to your voice and what it says, what would you think? It is an interesting question to consider as everyone has an inner voice and listening to it is the first step in learning whether this voice is helpful to us or not. Every time you have an internal dialogue with yourself, you are engaging in self-talk. This might present itself by speaking out loud, mumbling to yourself or silently having a conversation with yourself inside your head. However your self-talk presents itself, it can be very powerful.

SELF-TALK IS POWERFUL

Self-talk can be powerful as it can be constructive, destructive, positive, negative and move us to or away from action. In the world of sport, this influence can greatly affect our performance outcomes. Self-talk can be many things; it can help you to:

• self-calm or relax

• self-educate

• self-motivate

• focus

• self-reward

• self-criticise

Consider your self-talk when you think about open water swimming; does your inner voice direct inwardly to yourself or towards others? Perhaps your self-talk is neutral or so quiet that you are not consciously aware of the conversation being held. Perhaps your self-talk is full of worry or self-doubt? Do you think your self-talk is believable or not? Evidence suggests that self-talk can have a big impact on your performance as an open water swimmer. If you are able to channel your self-talk in the right direction and your self-talk is positive and constructive in nature, this can result in improved performance. Unfortunately, self-talk that is negative and destructive in nature can have a detrimental effect on performance. Firstly, it is important to recognise how self-talk can help you.

WHAT CAN SELF-TALK HELP ME WITH?

Self-talk for skill acquisition In swimming, which is such a technical sport, self-talk can help with certain key aspects of movement, for example changing technique in swimming. Here, planned cue words to direct your focus on the desired movement, such as ‘strong and long’ for a swimmer working on their underwater front crawl pull, can be beneficial. Evidence suggests that focusing on what you are trying to achieve, rather than the mechanics of the stroke is more useful.