The Downfall of Controlling “Negative” Thoughts in Sport
Athletes are often seen as paragons of discipline and focus, commanding their bodies to perform extraordinary feats under pressure. However, beneath the surface of physical prowess lies a complex mental battleground where thoughts, beliefs, and emotions collide.
The Theory of Ironic Thought Processes offers valuable insights into how athletes might better manage their mental states for improved performance.
This theory, proposed by psychologist Daniel Wegner, suggests that trying to suppress certain thoughts can ironically make those thoughts more prevalent. For instance, if someone tells themselves, “don’t think about crashing” they are more likely to think about crashing. This phenomenon highlights the paradoxical nature of thought control.
Wegner’s research demonstrates that the mind has a tendency to bring suppressed thoughts to the forefront, especially when the cognitive load is high or when the individual is under stress. This is particularly relevant for athletes, whose success often hinges on their ability to manage both physical and mental demands under stressful conditions.
The detriments of this type of thought control can manifest in several ways in sports…
Performance Anxiety
Athletes might try to suppress anxiety or self-doubt, thinking “Don’t mess up” or “Don’t let the pressure get to you.” However, this suppression can lead to an increased focus on the feared outcome, which can paradoxically heighten the chance of failure.
Overthinking & Paralysis by Analysis:
One way to manage stress is through perceived control. In sport, this often looks like trying to perfect a technique or strategy. However, becoming hyper-fixated on every minute detail of ones performance can disrupt an athletes ability to enter a state of flow. You may recognise this as paralysis by analysis. In other words, overthinking things that shouldn’t require thought, can cause a type of “paralysis” in performance where things become awkward and messy.
As Maverick from Top Gun says, “don’t think, just do!” … if only it were that simple.
Strategies for Managing Ironic Thought Processes
Instead of trying to control the inevitable “negative” thoughts that coincide sport (and life), athletes are better off changing how they relate to unwanted thoughts. Here’s some basic ideas to get you started…
Mindfulness: Practising mindfulness and acceptance based techniques helps athletes stay present and aware of their thoughts without judgement. This approach shifts the focus from controlling thoughts to observing and “unhooking” from them, reducing their disruptive impact.
Cognitive Restructuring: By reframing negative thoughts into neutral ones, athletes can counteract the ironic effect. For example, replacing “Don’t fail” with “I am prepared” shifts the focus from fear to courage (be careful not to spend too much time & energy trying to restructure thoughts as this can take you away from the task at hand and cause the thoughts to become more consuming).
Task-Focused Attention: Athletes can redirect their attention from self-monitoring (being in your head) to the task at hand. Concentrating on specific actions, such as a swimmer focusing on their stroke technique or a runner focusing on their breath helps maintain a clear and present focus (again, be mindful not to hyper-fixate / overthink your technique as this can result in what was described above as paralysis by analysis).
The more you try to control your thoughts, the more they control you.
For athletes, there is an intricate dance between mental control and performance. By acknowledging the existence of ironic thought processes, athletes can foster a mindset that embraces rather than resists the nature of unwanted thoughts in competitive sports.
Leave a comment below.
I’d love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions you have!
