How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach

How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach

How To Help Perfectionists With Their Mental Approach

By working with David Charlton, you and your organisation will be better equipped to rise to modern day challenges and better informed to thrive on and off the pitch, course or court.  Where he inspires individuals and teams to:

  • Cope with pressure and challenges more effectively
  • Maintain positive mental health
  • Compete with confidence more often
  • Manage your emotions better
  • Improve your commitments levels

David is a Mental Toughness Practitioner, as well as a Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist.  He has successfully supported athletes, teams and organisations for over 10 years in order to ensure that they perform at their maximum more often.

He has a comprehensive knowledge around the development of Mental Toughness, a plastic personality trait, which determines or limits people to deal effectively with change, challenges and stressors. In today’s climate, during the Coronavirus pandemic this quality is becoming more and more valuable to individuals, teams and organisations. 

Supporting athletes with perfectionist tendencies is a large part of our work at Inspiring Sporting Excellence.  They often display the following characteristics:

  • Difficulties transferring their practice or training to competitive events or matches.
  • Trying too hard.
  • Focusing intensely on results and outcomes.
  • Unable to trust themselves under pressure.
  • High, rigid and often unrealistic expectations of themselves and others.
  • Impatience and a tendency to demonstrate poor body language in the face of difficulties and for some to give up too easily.
  • Being frightened of letting other people down.
  • Having brittle confidence.
  • Letting their own self-worth and self-esteem be influenced by poor sporting performances.

Additionally, the perfectionist athlete can be very hard on themselves which informs the content in today’s episode where I share a case study and a helpful exercise relating to recovering from mistakes and errors.

Key Learning Points

  • When we’re not emotionally involved it’s easier to be kind and compassionate.
  • Often athletes find it easier to be kinder to team-mates than themselves when difficulties arise.
  • The pressure of being judged and critiqued in sport can impact on an athlete’s ability to deal with mistakes.
  • Being kind to yourself as an athlete doesn’t mean that you are going soft.
  • Learning how to be more self-compassionate can help you motivate yourself more than fear- based motivational methods.

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

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Relevant Podcast Episodes To Help Perfectionist Athletes

Ep129: David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – PT1

Ep130 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – PT2

Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

Other Relevant Blogs And Resources To Benefit the Athlete Who Desires To Be Perfect

Coach Development Helping Athletes Overcome Fear Of Failure

5 Ways To Create A Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Are You A Rugby Player With Perfectionist Tendencies?

How to Trust Your Skills When You’re a Goalkeeper

How to Help Children Overcome Fear of Failure

How To Play Well When You Aren’t Feeling Great

Conversations with Kids – Dealing with Criticism

Kristin Neff Website on Self-Compassion

IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and we read every single one of them!

David Charlton

Best Wishes 

David Charlton

Global Sports Psychologist who is located near Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and willing to travel Internationally.  David also uses online video conferencing software (Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp) on a regular basis and has clients who he has supported in USA, Canada, South America, UAE, Australian and New Zealand.  

Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub.  With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly. 

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

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Mental Edge Newsletter

Are you an athlete, coach or parent that would like to learn how to create sustainable high performance? Receive our free regular newsletter, where we share proven mental toughness and high performance tips and strategies. If you want some support and motivation straight to your inbox, then sign up below.

    We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    How To Beat The Yips In Golf So That You Enjoy The Game More #BITESIZE

    How To Beat The Yips In Golf So That You Enjoy The Game More #BITESIZE

    Alessia Bruno is a Clinical and Sports Psychologist, Mental and Performance Trainer specialising in Brainspotting and EMDR. She lectures at National Sport congresses and holds courses accredited by the Ministry of Health.  She helps athletes and performing artists to overcome blocks, choking, slumps, yips, trauma and works with expansion to take people and their potential beyond to where it was before the issue.

    Alessia Bruno

    The “yips” is a term commonly used in golf.  It describes sudden and unexplained losses of fine motor skills which impact on putting strokes and golfers chipping action.  It is argued that somewhere between 32 and 47% of serious golfers have been affected by the yips at some point.  The yips can be a very complex challenge to overcome where many golfers simply change technique and equipment numerous times.  Sports psychologists are advocates of the use of hypnosis, relaxation and visualisation techniques, as well as carefully thought out practice routines to help golfers regain confidence and trust in their putting stroke. 

    In this bitesize episode #163 of the Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast, my colleague Dr Alessia Bruno tells you more about the yips, what happens in the brain as well as offering you some hope if you experience this debilitating condition, where she refers to techniques such as Brainspotting and EMDR as a way to help you enjoy your golf or sport again.

    Key Learning Points:

    • The yips is a type of performance anxiety where motor skills are impacted.
    • Golfers tend to become very rigid and controlling when performing a skill.
    • The yips is a serious problem which can seep into other areas of your sport.
    • The yips can cause many athletes to quit their sport.
    • When the yips occurs, a fight or flight or freeze response occurs.
    • The limbic system is activated when we’re fearful, especially the amygdala.
    • Brainspotting and EMDR are techniques that allow us to process the memory without getting activated when we play golf or sport.

    Connect with Dr Alessia Bruno

    Website

    Articles, Videos and Podcasts

    Connect with David Charlton

    Sign Up to The Mental Edge

    Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

    Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

    To Listen to Other Useful Podcast Episodes

    Ep013: Karl Morris – How to stay present like a major champion

    Ep012: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes

    Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

    Ep101: Compilation – 25 Mental Game Secrets to Improve Your Golf

    Ep156: Ruth Chiles – There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

    For More Resources so You Can Shoot Lower Scores on The Golf Course

    10 Mental Game Tips from Leading Experts to Improve Your Golf

    Do you try too hard on the golf course?

    Psychology of Golf Library

    Further resources on the yips and mental blocks

    Yips Podcasts

    Mental Blocks Podcasts

    Mental Blocks Articles

    IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

    SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

    Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and we read every single one of them!

    David Charlton

    Best Wishes 

    David Charlton

    Global Sports Psychologist who is located near Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and willing to travel Internationally.  David also uses online video conferencing software (Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp) on a regular basis and has clients who he has supported in USA, Canada, South America, UAE, Australian and New Zealand.  

    Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub.  With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly. 

    T: +44 7734 697769

    E: [email protected]

    Search Our Sports Psychology Website

    Popular Categories

    Join Our Online Community Now!

    Mental Edge Newsletter

    Are you an athlete, coach or parent that would like to learn how to create sustainable high performance? Receive our free regular newsletter, where we share proven mental toughness and high performance tips and strategies. If you want some support and motivation straight to your inbox, then sign up below.

      We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

      There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

      There is Hope: How to Overcome Focal Dystonia

      Ruth Chiles

      Ruth Chiles works with professional musicians from many of the world´s leading symphonic orchestras, as well as from other genres such as jazz, rock and blues. Her experience is also with premier and international league sports clubs, and professional dancers, gymnasts, basketball players, skiers and track athletes, enabling them to resolve their performance blocks, especially focal dystonia. She has nearly 30 years of formation in and experience with leading edge neuroplasticity and neurogenesis techniques. As a musician herself who suffered and has healed herself from focal dystonia and other performance blocks, she understands first-hand what it is like to have your deepest passion snatched from you, the experience of the recovery process, and the joy of returning to confident, freedom and fluidity in your playing.

      In mainstream sports psychology when helping individuals to develop their mental toughness and overcome performance challenges sport psychologists are likely to use interventions such as cognitive restructuring, visualisation, goal setting, mindfulness and other relaxation techniques to help athletes.  However, when athletes experience trauma and difficulties such as the yips or mental blocks other tools may be required to help them overcome the challenges that they face. 

      Today I chat with Ruth Chiles, author of The Focal Dystonia Cure, who is a brainspotting practitioner, she goes on to tell you more about focal dystonia and neurological causes of this condition.  She also shares some practical tips for those of you who struggle with focal dystonia.  This episode is a great listen for those people who suffer from the yips or mental blocks or have experienced trauma in some form.

      Key Learnings

      • Focal dystonia is a very extreme somatisation in the body of a mental block where the particular movement or a particular part of the body is out of control.
      • What is going on in the nervous system sits underneath the body movements, or body blocks.
      • Fight and flight responses are when you are highly activated in the nervous system whereas a freeze response is when you experience hyper activation.
      • For some people their nervous system has been in a constant state of survival since before child birth.  Our very early life history and our attachment to our mother plays a part.
      • Brainspotting was developed by a New York psychologist called David Grand where we rewire parts of the brain so that people can respond differently in specific situations.
      • We connect to the sub cortex through the body not through the thinking mind.
      • When performing we are often in survival mode which can impede fluidity, enlarge muscles and inhibit your fine motor skills.

      Connect with David Charlton

      Sign Up to The Mental Edge

      Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

      Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

      Connect with Ruth Chiles

      Website

      Book: The Focal Dystonia Cure: Powerful and Definitive Practices to Completely Heal Yourself

      Ruth Chiles on Facebook

      Ruth Chiles on YouTube

      Relevant Podcast Episodes

      Ep013: Karl Morris – How to stay present like a major champion

      Ep012: Alessia Bruno – The Yips, Crashes, Trauma in Sport there is hope for Athletes

      Ep092: Dr James Hegarty – ACT in Sport, Improving Performance through Mindfulness

      Ep131 David Charlton – How to Deal with Self-Criticism using Self Compassion – FINAL PART

      Ep142: Alessia Bruno – Is Striving for Perfection a Good Thing in Gymnastics?

      Relevant Blogs

      Blog: Helping a Critical Child When You’re a Parent

      Blog: How to Support an Angry Young Athlete

      Using ACT and Mindfulness to Improve Your Sporting Performances

      Why You Should Meditate To Improve Your Sport Performance?

      Guided Mindfulness Meditation Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn

      IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

      SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

      Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and we read every single one of them!

      David Charlton

      Best Wishes 

      David Charlton

      Global Sports Psychologist who is located near Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and willing to travel Internationally.  David also uses online video conferencing software (Zoom, Facetime, WhatsApp) on a regular basis and has clients who he has supported in USA, Canada, South America, UAE, Australian and New Zealand.  

      Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence and Founder of The Sports Psychology Hub.  With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly. 

      T: +44 7734 697769

      E: [email protected]

      Search Our Sports Psychology Website

      Popular Categories

      Join Our Online Community Now!

      Mental Edge Newsletter

      Are you an athlete, coach or parent that would like to learn how to create sustainable high performance? Receive our free regular newsletter, where we share proven mental toughness and high performance tips and strategies. If you want some support and motivation straight to your inbox, then sign up below.

        We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

        How to Help Golfers Overcome their Mental Game Challenges

        Dr. Bob Winters

        How to Help Golfers Overcome their Mental Game Challenges Dr. Robert K Winters is an internationally recognised sport psychologist, author and professional educator.  He is the President of his own performance enhancement company located in Orlando, Florida and is the Resident Sport Psychologist for the internationally renowned Leadbetter Golf Academy World Teaching Headquarters at Champions

        How To Transfer Your Golfing Skills To The Course

        How To Transfer Your Golfing Skills To The Course Will Shaw is a PGA golf professional who provides golf coaching and sport science services for elite players.  Alongside his applied work, Will lectures at Leeds Beckett University on the topics of sports biomechanics and skill acquisition. Will completed his Masters degree in Sport & Exercise Science at