High Expectations In Sports
In “Sessions with Doc,” Dr. Patrick Cohn answers your sports psychology and mental training questions about boosting confidence for competitions. Visit Peaksports.com and click on contact us to submit your question for Dr. Cohn to answer in his mental game videocast or podcast.
Here’s the question Dr. Cohn answers this week about understanding how high expectations can hurt your confidence:
JOHN ASKS: “I would be interested in whether or not you are familiar with the stat, 90% of golfers possess expectations that are unrealistic or too high. Therefore, they are disappointed 90% of the time, do you agree?”
Watch the video below to hear what Dr. Cohn has to say to John about how unrealistic expectations can hurt confidence. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to be updated on all our latest videos!
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Dear Dr. Cohn,
I started to do the exercise on managing expectations and some of the things that came out of this that I expected to fail (“again”). With my athleticism and training I expect to win ( of course). But then I started to list the things that always seem to happen, like berating myself, fail to react or loss of movement, lose focus. These have become my expectations for me in matches these days!
I have been playing tennis since I was was young, but lose to people who have started within five years. It is heartbreaking!
Sincerely
Leah
This just says to me that you have negative expectations about your game and mental game. The same rule applies… You have to change your focus about the outcome and instead focus on one point at a time. Pick a couple small things to focus on, within that point.