And it is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of an athlete's training. Before looking at how our internal dialogue impacts us, lets briefly assess your internal dialogue with a simple test. Recall a time in your athletic career, when you made a major blunder, committed an unforced error or turnover. Recall what you said to yourself immediately after messing up. Now pretend a teammate made the same mistake at another point in the competition and you say to him or her exactly the same thing you said to yourself.
Lets examine some common language often used by athletes.
Lets look at the definition for this word in a common dictionary. Hope implies some sort of intervention, whether of another person or a deity. Lets look at the definition for this word in the dictionary. By definition it happens by chance. It diminishes personal responsibility, it makes it easier to skip workouts, it excuses laziness and poor effort, and it gives the athlete a reason to downplay the work ethic and dedication of the opposition.