Concentration Differences — Advice for Athletes During the Coronavirus Crisis
Concentration: The Heart of Mental Toughness
In this video, Dr. Alan Goldberg, a sports performance consultant, explains how concentration is the heart of mental toughness and how it affects an athlete's performance. He discusses the two places where an athlete can put their focus before and during a performance.
Internal Focus
- Athletes who have their focus on their thoughts or overthink about technique, mechanics, competition, outcome, or what others may think of them will get anxious and nervous.
- Overthinking causes athletes to physically tighten up and lose confidence.
- When an athlete chokes or falls apart during a performance, it's because their focus is too internal.
External Focus
- Athletes who have their focus on the action involve no thinking and are in their hind brain. They instinctively read what's going on and react.
- Focusing on the movement helps athletes stay confident and loose with access to their skills.
Importance of Awareness
- It's critical for athletes to develop awareness of where they're putting their concentration before and during a performance.
- If an athlete is aware that they're thinking too much, they need to switch back to focusing on the action quickly and gently.
Overall, Dr. Goldberg emphasizes that concentration affects an athlete's level of nervousness, confidence, rebound from mistakes/bad breaks, access to skills, and potential for performing well.
Staying Focused and Consistent
In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of staying focused on the task at hand and consistently learning to improve performance.
Importance of Staying Focused
- Getting in the habit of staying aware of where you put your focus can lead to improved performance.
- Concentrating on the action, doing, and feeling of what you're doing can help maintain focus.
Consistency is Key
- Learning consistently can help keep concentration levels high.
- Improved concentration leads to better performance levels.
- Consistently performing at a high level is important for success.
Introduction
The speaker introduces themselves and welcomes viewers to their channel.
Speaker Introduction
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Conclusion
The speaker concludes by thanking viewers for watching and encourages them to subscribe and provide feedback.
Final Thoughts
- Viewers are encouraged to subscribe to the channel and hit the bell icon for notifications about new videos.
- Feedback from viewers is appreciated, including suggestions for future videos.
- The speaker thanks viewers for listening and wishes them safety until next time.