Sports Psychology Tips: Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance
Balance is not something you find, it's something that you create
Your personal core values are the things that you believe are IMPORTANT in your life. Personal core values can exist at home, at work, in your sport or any area of your life. They should determine your priorities. You should also be able to measure closely if you are sticking to your values or if any conflicts are influencing your actions.
When your behaviour in your life and your sport match up, the likelihood is that you will feel happier, more comfortable and confident when playing your sport. When your core values are conflicted, the opposite is likely to occur. In your day to day life you are more likely to feel a little:
- Short tempered
- Stressed out
- Less focused
- Overwhelmed
- Anxious
These feelings may then impact negatively on your mindset when practicing, playing or competing at your sport. The results could well be:
- Less efficient practice
- Poor commitment to mastering the task in hand
- Lower levels of concentration
- Frustration and anger issues are more evident
- Less fun and enjoyment
- More self-critical
- Less confidence in your ability
- Giving up more easily
To make an effort to recognise and identify your values can help your decision making on and off the sports field. When you know your own core values you are then in a position to shape the decisions that you make in your life and in your sport. You understand what is REALLY IMPORTANT to you.
Your core values will tend to follow you through life, though as different priorities in your life shift over time, some core values may change. For example, if you’re a footballer or cricketer you may gain more responsibility in your team as you gain more experience. Golfers or tennis players may focus their attention on playing at a high level then decide coaching is more important to them.
Step 1: When did you feel the happiest and most content?
Brainstorm time: Write down examples in your life and in your sport.
- Who did you spend time with? Were you alone?
- What made this period, what were you doing?
- Were there other reasons for your happiness?
- What feelings did you experience?
- Did you feel proud of yourself? Why?
Step 2: Identify your TOP 10 personal core values from this list that reflect what is important in your life:
| Accountability Accuracy Achievement Adventurousness Altruism Ambition Assertiveness Balance Being the best Belonging Boldness Calmness Carefulness Challenge Cheerfulness Clear-mindedness Commitment Community Compassion Competitiveness Consistency Contentment Continuous Improvement Contribution Control Cooperation Correctness Courtesy Creativity Curiosity Decisiveness Democraticness Dependability Determination Devoutness Diligence Discipline Discretion Diversity Dynamism Economy Effectiveness Efficiency Elegance Empathy Enjoyment Enthusiasm Equality | Excellence Excitement Expertise Exploration Expressiveness Fairness Faith Family-orientedness Fidelity Fitness Fluency Focus Freedom Fun Generosity Goodness Grace Growth Happiness Hard Work Health Helping Society Holiness Honesty Honor Humility Independence Ingenuity Inner Harmony Inquisitiveness Insightfulness Intelligence Intellectual Status Intuition Joy Justice Leadership Legacy Love Loyalty Making a difference Mastery Merit Obedience Openness Order Originality Patriotism | Perfection Piety Positivity Practicality Preparedness Professionalism Prudence Quality-orientation Reliability Resourcefulness Restraint Results-oriented Rigor Security Self-actualization Self-control Selflessness Self-reliance Sensitivity Serenity Service Shrewdness Simplicity Soundness Speed Spontaneity Stability Strategic Strength Structure Success Support Teamwork Temperance Thankfulness Thoroughness Thoughtfulness Timeliness Tolerance Traditionalism Trustworthiness Truth-seeking Understanding Uniqueness Unity Usefulness Vision Vitality |
Step 3: For the following categories (below) write down your TOP 3 CORE VALUES from the list above or choose words that are similar or better describe your values. Feel free to alter the categories to best fit your own personal and professional needs.
- Home Life
- Work
- Sport
- Leisure Activities
Step 4: Confirm your Personal Core Values
Brainstorm time:
- If you follow through with behaviours related to these core values what feelings will you experience?
- Will you feel fulfilled?
- Will you feel proud of yourself? Why?
- Would you be comfortable sharing your values to other people?
If you enjoyed this article feel free to share it to team-mates, friends or coaches or sign up to “The Mental Edge” for Sports Psychology updates and tips.
For further advice on your Personal Core Values or on how we could work together to help improve your sport performance feel free to get in touch for one 2 one Sports Psychology Coaching with a Leading Sports Psychologist, David Charlton and his team, based in the North East of England however operating across the globe with ONLINE Sports Psychology Coaching.
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 UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia 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
