The Psychology of Performance: How to Be Your Best in Life

Sport psychology uses psychological knowledge and skills to help athletes achieve optimal performance, while caring for their overall well-being and development. Begin your introduction to a relatively new field, revealing the science behind the most appropriate cognitive and physical practices leading to top performance.

You say you don't have athletic talent? You'll be surprised to learn talent is overrated and can even become a disadvantage in the long run. Instead, discover the benefits of focusing your attention on practice - deliberate, purposeful practice with well-defined goals. That's the way to challenge your brain and body to grow and adapt to achieve expertise.

If you want to reach your best performance level, you'll need to answer this one very important question: Why? Identifying what you want your performance life to be about will help determine your goals and values, and they will guide you through the hard work, wins, and losses ahead.

Performers in any sport or art must be aware, intentional, and purposeful in focus, attention, and action. While the application of mindfulness meditation to sports performance is in its infancy, initial scientific studies reveal both short- and long-term benefits. Learn about the three major models of mindfulness and how to best apply them to your practice and performance.

We've all heard it: "Think positive! You can do it!" But when it comes to peak performance, is positive thinking a help or a hindrance? Cognitive defusion can help you see your thoughts for what they really are - experiences inside your head and nothing more. Gain the power of choosing which thoughts to follow and which to ignore.

All human emotions are based upon these basic four: anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. So why should you expect to be happy and positive all the time? That's only one out of four! Learn to accept the full range of your thoughts and emotions in order to free up your energy to focus on your performance goals and values.