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Use the same technique while you are doing your workout to periodically visualize the next segment of the workout. If you have trouble try watching yourself in windows as you pass, following your shadow or by having someone videotape you.
Self Control - Dealing With Challenges and Focusing Energy
Self control is important in being able to perform well under a variety of stress-producing circumstances. Some aspects include being able to accept criticism, not being afraid to fail, maintaining composure under stress and being able to perform to potential during competition. To do these you need to be able to control and channel your emotions, focus your concentration, bounce back from setbacks, and most importantly, deal with negative thoughts. Negative thoughts and emotions create negative performances. During competition, they can result in a vicious negative cycle of thought and performance, the destruction of commitment. Most competitive runners have experienced this destructive scenario.
A serious runner should pursue and maintain the attitude of an optimist. Barriers can be viewed as obstacles or challenges. Winners see barriers in their paths as challenges rather than obstacles. People who excel often don't even see the barriers as challenges, but as a normal part of the activity. "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal" - Johnny Danger, motorcycle daredevil. Most barriers faced in competition are faced by all the competitors. Those who use them as challenges they can rise above, rather than as obstacles that hinder performance, will be victors. You can be a winner or a whiner.
Another important part of self control is controlling and channeling psychological energy. Energy comes in two forms : positive and negative. Positive energy is the energy you get when you ar enjoying an activity, e.g. a "slam dunk" in basketball. Negative energy is the energy you get from fear. Both of them can be motivators. Psychological research, however, has shown that the best performances take place in an atmosphere of positive energy, often described by the participants as a state of joy. Although negative energy can motivate you to perform, it is more often associated with negative motivation. Negative thoughts and fears usually inhibit performance rather than drive it. In competition, once doubt gains a foothold, it has a tendency to snowball into many negative thoughts, loss of energy and poor performance. Winners recognize and have ways of dealing with negative thoughts. If possible, they avoid them entirely. Otherwise, they are able to cope with them rapidly and dismiss them.
Try to detect negative thoughts while you are running or thinking about your running. You may wish to write some of them down and think about them later. Many of these negative thoughts can be dismissed immediately as being "plain stupid" or as being about things over which you have no control. Most of the others can be turned into challenges or put into a positive perspective.
Having positive or negative energy is one thing; controlling it is another. Winners have the ability to focus the energy into performing the task at hand. Whether it is the dread of a final exam in school or the excitement generated by the crowd in Boston, winners know how to use it.
Maintaining this focus of energy is one of the most difficult tasks for a long distance runner in competition. You will be faced with numerous energy wasting distractions and negative thoughts during the race. To achieve top performance, you must learn to stay positively focused.
On your "hard" workout days, practice detecting your level of focus. You should be thinking in the present about what you are doing, not in the past or the future or about external things.
On your "easy" workout days practice relaxing and dismissing all stress producing negative thoughts you may have. Work on visualizing yourself effortlessly running in a state of enjoyment. Think about "looking good" so if others see you run by they will think you are completely enjoying your run.
Achieving "The Zone"
The ultimate in self control is when it is totally automatic, the state athletes call being "in the zone". Almost everyone has had an experience when everything seemed to flow like magic and performance was effortless, even joyful. These experiences are often described as "out of body" or "zen-like" because of the degree of simultaneous focus and awareness and the lack of physical effort to the point that the performance is joyful. The "zone" is mysterious, but it is a place where winners live.
We have no exercises guaranteed to get you into "the zone." It is important for you to recognize when you have these positive psychological experiences and try to determine what led you to them. If you have one, write down in your training log everything you can remember about what happened and what the surrounding conditions and environment were. After several "zone" runs, perhaps you can find a key to what motivates your experience.
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OVIE ISRAEL E. OMANUDHOWHO
I am Israel 4 Christ, a young Motivational Speaker/ Writer. I am a citizen of the great country Nigeria. I have always believes that "Understanding the word of God Almighty is what it takes to be great in life."
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thanks Israel ISRAEL EWOMAZINO OMANUDHOWHO | Feb 22nd, 2008
Reall you have a vision for this generation
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