Focusing on The Present Rather Than Past Mistakes
Letting go of mistakes is a difficult task for many athletes, but a super important skill for all.
If you dwell on the last play, poor routine, error or bad performance and let it to fester in your mind, this leads to more mistakes and a downward spiral.
The memory of mistakes creates a split focus where it divides your focus.
When you have a split focus, half of your mental energy on the past, this is no different than giving half the amount of physical effort in a competition.
If you are not fully present in the moment, you risk making more mistakes and becoming frustrated.
Dwelling on the past is a focusing problem. The mistake is over, but you cannot let go because it is upsetting or frustrating.
How does your concentration work?
Well, you have three moments in time where you can place your focus:
- The Past – While you can learn from the past, reliving past mistakes only serves to crush confidence and misplace your focus.
- The Future – If you have difficulty letting go of mistakes, this leads to fear of repeating those mistakes in the near future. This leads to playing it safe.
- The Present – Focusing on the present requires you to let go of the past and play with no expectations. In essence, focusing on the present is a matter of just performing with no judgment of how you are doing.
Matthew Stafford, quarterback for the Detroit Lions, is the highest paid player in the National Football League. Despite his contract and being one of the best players in the league, Stafford is not immune from mistakes.
Stafford’s first pass of the 2017 season was a pick-6 and put the Lions behind early in the game. But Stafford remained focused and led his team to score 20 points in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback victory.
After the game, Stafford talked about the importance of letting go of mistakes, moving on and focusing on the present.
STAFFORD: “Focusing on a mistake keeps the attention on yourself. What did I do? How could I have avoided that? They’re worthy questions. Just ask them after the game is over. Your teammates are counting on you to play now, not answer for something in the past while there is still time to get the job done… Keep playing, this is what we talk about.”
Playing in the present is the best way for mistakes to be contained to the past.
How to Let go of Past Mistakes:
Cue yourself after a bad play, routine or performance, and tell yourself, “Move on,” or, “That’s in the past.”
First you have to recognize you’re dwelling, which is half the battle. Then you have to adjust your focus.
Next, ask yourself: “What do I focus on right now to help my team or perform this play?”
Improve Concentration in Sports!
If you’re an athlete who is frequently distracted, loses focus in competition, or wants to learn more about how to focus better under pressure, The Focused Athlete is for you!
Concentration and the ability to focus under adversity is what championship athletes do best.
It only takes one distraction to enter your mind for you to lose a critical point, miss a putt, or lose a second off your lap time. You cannot afford to let distractions run wild in your mind and cause you to make errors at critical times in the game!
The Focused Athlete is a complete system to teach you how to focus like a champion and harness the power of a zone focus every tie you step on the playing field, court, track or course in practice and games!
This workbook and CD program consists of 2 audio CDs that include 14 days of focus boosting exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through each of the 14 days, helps you apply strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal focus challenges.
Discover:
- How to quickly identify distractions that sabotage your concentration and how to quickly refocus after distractions.
- How to use pregame routines to help you harness the power of zone concentration before competition.
- How to use preshot routines before shots or serves to help you be more task-focused instead of worrying about results.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Athlete Series…
The Focused Athlete: A 14-Day Plan For Superior Concentration
What are customers saying about our mental game programs?
“I just finished ‘The Confident Athlete Program‘. Improving confidence is a never ending process. I think that confidence boosting is an awesome area. Having a daily mental plan for mental “work outs” can turbo charge anyone’s confidence level…. Studying almost all of Dr. Cohn’s mental game materials gives me a real EDGE over my competitions and most importantly – a boost in my daily life.”
~Radek Sefcik, peaksports.com member
“I can see that ‘The Confident Athlete Series‘ program is really sort of a lifestyle change. Just as weight loss involves a change in eating habits, confidence involves a change in thinking habits. I recently participated in a registered Skeet tournament and shot the best doubles score I’ve shot in four years. I attribute that score to your program!”
~Kevin Lutgen, Shooter
“I enjoyed ‘The Confident Athlete Series’ very much. I particularly liked the format, the ease of the program, and the 2 CDs that accompanied the workbook – 10-20 minutes a day was simple to adhere to and put in my busy schedule. I love the part about confidence with grace, and what I want to portray and feel the minute I step foot into Los Angeles for nationals. I love the affirmations, the relaxation techniques, and just the entire perspective of the program.”
~Sarah, US National Aerobic Gymnastics Team
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
If you’re a top performer during practice but find yourself under-performing in competition, the most likely culprit holding you back is your mental game.
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with one-on-one personal mental game coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our mental game coaching students, parents and coaches saying?
“I felt the time spent in your seminar was very well organized. The topics were great and you had the coaches communicating in an open atmosphere. Thanks again for your time and effort and I look forward to talking with you in the future.”*
~Coach Dave Wannstedt, Miami Dolphins
“After going through a week of practice using your pre-kick routine, I was perfect on three field goals on a muddy field and a windy day in my final college game. Now I am entertaining the idea of trying to enter the professional ranks. Thank you for your help!”*
~Nate Littlefield, Collegiate Kicker
“After your session, Mason had a game. He had the best game so far! He hustled, shot, no goals but two assists but he was cool with it because his focus was on shooting and not scoring (finally), defended well with his hands – finally put it all together. It was fun to watch and you could tell he felt really good about it.”*
~Kelly, Lacrosse mom
“I am a Brazilian coach in Tempe, AZ. I am the vice-president of the Arizona State Brazillian Jiujitsue Federation, long story short, I would like to say that you have a great program; you have been able to help me and my competitors. My fiancee, Kristina Barlaan, who just won two medals at the 2012 World Championship has also mentioned your program as a big help.”*
~Gustavo Dantas, Coach