Drey Ricks | How Athletes Perform at a High Level with Intensity   

Drey Ricks,  “Top athletes perform at a high level knowing it starts first in the mind. Having the  right mentality is the beginning and the end of all success in just about anything in life, definitely in sports.” 

Drey Ricks Talking positively to yourself is key to success. People who are mentally tough, have a sense  of positive self-efficacy. They inherently believe they are going to achieve a positive outcome  and their thoughts express this. Tough-minded people often speak encouraging words out  loud which also benefits others around them. What an athlete says to themselves when they  are behind on the scoreboard has a massive impact on whether they stay behind or take action  to turn it around. Drey Ricks stresses the importance of talking positively  to yourself. 

“What we say to ourselves is crucial to how we feel and how we act. Positive affirmations help athletes with self-talk and preparation for participating in their sport. They are short, simple statements that athletes tell themselves during an event.”, Drey Ricks.   A way to construct positive affirmations is to first identify negative statements you have said to yourself during a run or walk. Then, take the negative statements and reframe them into something positive. Working through difficulties is a part of long distance events. The challenge becomes how we replace negative thoughts with more positive thoughts. It is important to construct affirmations in the present moment that focus on our goals. Mentally resilient athletes are successful not just because they are tough, but also because they have skills to help them push through the suck and enhance their performance. The resilient have a way of transforming these negative thoughts or not letting them invade their consciousness in the first place. They do this through a conscious dialogue of positive self-talk.

Positive self-talk is using a quick saying or phrase to help you concentrate on the task at hand or give you a brief respite from the misery. This self-talk shouldn’t be negative or something that makes you feel bad about yourself or reminds you of the difficulty of the situation. It can and needs to be positive and something that you are capable of doing. “Something that you believe you can and will do. It can even be humorous, as long as it helps pull you out of the suck and push your performance.”, Drey Ricks.