Power of Positive Attitude

POSITIVE ATTITUDE = POSITIVE ATHLETIC SUCCESS!

Christopher Stankovich, Ph.D.

Positive Attitude & Why It’s Important!

The attitude you choose each day (and it is a choice of yours 100% of the time) will make all the difference in the world when it comes to life success. Choose a positive attitude and your overall mood state will increase, as will your confidence level and ability to successfully interact with other people. On the other hand, choosing a negative attitude will put your mind in a depressed emotional state, often leading to poor motivation, poor communication skills with others, and in sports, this type of attitude usually results in a terrible disruption to the entire team.

While you don’t have much choice when it comes to how tall you will grow or how big your hands will become (or other biological traits), you do have a choice when it comes to attitude! Choose wisely each day and success will follow; on the other hand, keeping a negative attitude will push people away from you and prevent golden opportunities from ever developing.

Try to wake up each day and find at least one thing to be thankful for – then carry that positive attitude throughout the day and especially into your practices and games. When you develop a positive attitude, it will also spread to others as emotion is contagious, and a healthy team climate is always a good thing when it comes to team success!

Why a Positive Attitude Works

Today, we hear so much about negative “chemical imbalances” through television commercials pushing various anti-depressant medications. Interestingly, rarely do we hear about positive chemical exchanges in the brain that come as a result of having a positive attitude! When you decide to develop a positive attitude, neurotransmitters fire in the brain and send off various endorphins and other chemical reactions in your body that lead to many great things, including better confidence and self-esteem. What is so amazing about this is that attitude is always under your control, so when you think of it, so much of your personal wellness is really under your personal control. Get your mind and body in synchrony by making a promise to harness the power of positive thinking and take your game to a new level!

How to Develop a Positive Attitude

• Remember, attitude is a choice that only you can make. Positive attitude leads to a host of wonderful things for your mind and body, while a negative attitude will bring you down in every aspect of your life. Needless to say, choose wisely!

• While keeping a positive attitude may be challenging (what good things in life aren’t?), remember that you can always look to see the glass “half-full” instead of “half-empty.” There is usually a silver lining to most things in life if you look hard enough. For example, after a loss there are always important things you can learn in order to be better the next time you play.

• Your positive attitude will positively impact everyone on your team and allow your team to reach its highest levels. Unfortunately, your negative attitude can lead to the opposite occurring.

• Keeping a positive attitude does not mean you need to act “corny” and always get in your teammates faces about them being overly-positive. Just be yourself, smile, be friendly to others, and show interest in their endeavors and it is very likely your attitude will quickly rub off on them in a healthy and positive way.

Dr. Chris Stankovich is a national expert in the field of sport & performance psychology and has assisted thousands of athletes reach their full athletic potential. He is the Founder of Advanced Human Performance Systems, and is known as “The Sports Doc” for his weekly segment on Ohio News Network (ONN). Please visit www.drstankovich.com for exciting, easy-to-understand Peak Performance videos, audios, assessments, and feature articles! Enjoy today’s article? For a more detailed, downloadable mp3 audio file on this topic please visit www.drstankovich to learn more!