How to Focus for an Athletic Performance

Focusing for an athletic performance is the single most important regiment in athletic training. More than practice, exercise and diet, focus leads to athletic success. Psycho-cybernetics is the psychology of mental focus, often called mental imaging or mental steering. Psycho-cybernetics is a method of practicing focus with the intent of training the mind to concentrate for an extended period of time on a chosen goal. Picturing yourself in the moment, dreaming of hitting the last second shot, the 40 foot putt, reaching the summit or crossing the finish line, trying to anticipate and imagine every moment of a coming competition leads to competitive focus.

Instructions

    • 1
      Imagine every detail of every moment.

      Begin psycho-cybernetics the same day you begin your physical regiment in preparation for the competition. For example, if you are training for the first game of a football season and you have two months to prepare, begin imagining that game the first day you run hills or the first day you begin weight training.

    • 2
      Imagine the ball falling through the rim.

      Build a story in your mind and have a distinct beginning, middle and end of your story. Fill in the rest as you go. If you are preparing for a basketball game for example, you may want to begin your story on the bus ride to the game. Imagine yourself on the bus. See yourself practicing psycho-cybernetics. Imagine yourself walking off the bus into the locker room. Think of yourself putting on your jersey, tying your shoes, of whom you will be sitting next to and talking to. Imagine warm-ups, the opening tip, halftime and the final shot. That is your story of the game.

    • 3
      Imagine the perfect shot.

      Fill in the blanks of your story. The more details you add, the more you focus, the more you concentrate. If it is a golf tournament, imagine every step of every hole. See yourself teeing up the ball, taking a practice swing or two, stepping up to the ball, concentrating on watching the ball during your backswing, driving the ball hard and watching it fly down the fairway. Picture yourself walking towards the ball and imagine the feeling you will have after a long, straight impressive drive.

    • 4
      Imagine success.

      Find a quiet place to concentrate when you are learning to practice mental steering. Allow yourself to develop your story in its entirety. As often as possible, move through that story in its entirety. After some time, begin changing the story. Add scenarios and different situations within the competition, but always imagine success and always begin at the beginning of your story. Always being by imagining yourself practicing mental imagining prior to the competition. Always start at the beginning of your story, then learn to jump to critical situations within the competition. The more scenarios you can imagine, the more prepared you will be if one arrives and the easier it will be for you to focus in that moment.

    • 5
      Practice mental imaging when it is most difficult.

      Daydream in chaos. When you have sedentary time during the day, imagine your story of the competition. The more you can concentrate on your story with distractions around you, the easier it will be for you to focus during the competition when distractions abound. On a noisy bus, in a doctor's office surrounded by crying babies, teach yourself to concentrate, to focus.

    • 6

      Practice psycho-cybernetics religiously. Every spare moment you have, imagine yourself winning and imagine every detail leading to that success. Be able to gain focus in a single moment so when you are in the competition, in the moment, focus will be second nature.