Your Mental Game: Put it in the box!
by Ashley Samson, PhD, CMPC
University of Kentucky Kinesiology & Health Promotion
At this point, you have thought about your goals in life, learned about visualizing your success, and hopefully been practicing your positive self-talk (3 P’s!) and mantras. You’ve been busy!
While we know these components are essential to our success, it can take a lot of mental energy to keep yourself on track. As a result, you might start to wonder what happens when the “newness” wears off, or you find yourself having negative self-talk or negative images in your head despite your best efforts to stay positive.
First of all, don’t get mad or frustrated if you find yourself thinking something negative. We are human! Back in April, I talked about using a mantra to refocus. This month I want to build on that idea with another strategy that has been helpful with the athletes I work with. It’s called “put it in the box.”
What Is “Putting It In the Box”?
What is it? When you feel a negative thought or image coming into your head (or anything that’s distracting you from your focus), imagine a large box and see yourself throwing that thought into the box and closing the lid. As you visualize this image, tell yourself “I’m putting it in the box and I’m not letting that distract me right now.”
Some athletes even draw a small square on their hand (their box) that they look at to remind themselves to put everything unnecessary in the box. I wear a small bracelet with a square-shaped charm that I use as my reminder.
How does this work?
Visualizing the box allows your mind to pause for a second as you visualize your “box.” That momentary break in attention allows you to get back on track and keeps your mind from going off down Negativity Lane.
Another reason this is effective is that it relieves the pressure of trying to eliminate negative thoughts/images from your brain, which is unrealistic. It’s normal and natural for us to have doubts and negative thoughts, but whether we allow them to affect us is what matters.
So, instead of trying to say, “I’m not going to have ANY negative thoughts/images in my head,” it’s more effective (and realistic) to say, “I’m going to try to stay as positive as I can, but I know that I may have some doubts and negative thoughts. When I do, I will simply put them in the box and not allow them to get to me.”
The first statement sets you up for failure because as soon as you think or visualize anything negative, you will feel bad because you “failed” at keeping those thoughts out. The second statement is much more beneficial because it acknowledges that some negativity may occur, but you have a plan to deal with it. This is a great strategy for feeling empowered and in control.
Previous posts from Ashley Samson:
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