Self-talks are dialogues that happen in individuals’ thoughts and are influenced by the subconscious mind. Self-motivation plays a vital role in revealing a person’s views, questions, ideas, and, most importantly, beliefs. Athletes use them as a cognitive method of influencing or inducing judgments, behaviors, and feelings. As such, self-encouragement can also be defined as automatic statements that are deliberate and reflective techniques used by athletes to encourage sport-related thinking (Walter et al., 2019). These talks influence cognitive anxiety positively and negatively; they also help athletes improve their self-confidence and performance.
Numerous works of literature try to examine the impact of self-motivation on athletes. Self-inspiration training has been proved to have beneficial effects on learning sports skills and improving sports accuracy. Additionally, it has been found to increase the performance of tasks that necessitate power and strength and is also valuable for endurance sports (Walter et al., 2019). A meta-analysis of study on motivational and instructional self-discussions stipulates that such uplifting has an average advantageous effect on the performance of sports tasks (Walter et al., 2019). According to Walter, Nikoleizig, and Alfermann (2019), similar advantages of positive instructional motivation were established through a systematic literature review based on self-inducement. However, the results indicated no significant connection between sports performance and negative self-directed talks.
Cognitive anxiety has been proven to be significantly influenced by self-encouragement. The influence of cognitive anxiety through self-talks has been confirmed to cause positive development in athletes (Walter et al., 2019). Walter, Nikoleizig, and Alfermann (2019) argue that these talks, such as motivational dialogues, tend to reduce negative expectations or concerns that a person has about themselves. This reduction of worries leads an athlete in raising their confidence and hence their performance. Self-dialogues also have the capability of influencing cognitive anxiety negatively (Walter et al., 2019). Conversely, when an athlete starts to doubt themselves internally, it lowers their self-confidence and performance. A decrease in performance results from athletes’ mental health being weakened to the extent of believing that they cannot achieve something.
Self-talk was also found to affect coach-related performances. The findings indicate that this kind of conversation is not restricted to impacting motor behaviors; it also influences the athletes’ motor skills as demonstrated by coaches (Walter et al., 2019). The long-term intervention of self-directed discussions proved to be more effective than the short-term talks regarding their impact on participants. Self-efficacy, whose influence through these conversations is contentious in pieces of literature, responded positively to self-talk training (Walter et al., 2019). In addition, self-optimization, a crucial skill among athletes, helps them achieve their goals and stay focused, and improves after self-conversation training.
Self-dialogues are something that people do naturally during their waking hours. Individuals are becoming more aware of the benefits of positive self-inspiration in increasing their confidence and controlling negative emotions. Self-talk is crucial in ensuring that individuals, especially athletes remain committed to their goals. These talks help in reminding us of the reasons for doing the things individuals do. Individuals who can master positive self-motivation are viewed as confident, productive, and motivated, and hence every person should strive to master the art.
Reference
Walter, N., Nikoleizig, L., & Alfermann, D. (2019). Effects of self-talk training on competitive anxiety, self-efficacy, volitional skills, and performance: An intervention study with junior sub-elite athletes. Sports, 7(6), 148. Web.