NoThere is no sporting performance without work on the athlete’s psychology. How else to explain their ability to concentrate under stress, their dedication to the goal during the race but also their perseverance for the entire duration of the training, what is their life? There are many psychological strategies that professionals implement. And many of these are not specifically sporting, on the contrary. We “stole” some of them with Elizabeth Borgia. Sports psychologist at very high levels, as well as being a former athlete herself.
Psychology, 7 strategies used by athletes useful in daily life
Psychologist of the Italian national cycling team (also for the preparation for Paris 2024) and of the Trek Segafredo men and women, Elisabetta Borgia is among the guests of the Campus Bike Convention. An event dedicated to the relationship between cycling and sporting performance which will be staged 2-3 December at FICO Eataly in Bologna.
Even on that occasion he will explain that yes: it is possible to use the mind to our advantage to maximize our performance, in everyday life as well as in endurance sports. «At work, but also to feel comfortable in the complexity of the worldthere are many soft skills that you can implement to achieve a satisfying and rewarding life,” he explains.
Here then his advice for applying sports psychology to life. A 7-point road map to put into practice immediately.
1. To be effective you must learn to stay in the present
Let’s start with concentration. Most of us are always projected into the future, into what we have to do and organize, achieve, and fall victim of anxiety. Or lives in a sense of guilt for what it was, and he constantly ruminates. The goal is instead to stay in the present, in the here and now: a time in which to process one thing at a time. Only in this way, once the myth of multitasking and acting simultaneously on multiple fronts has been destroyed, can one be concentrated and effective.
Elisabetta Borgia, photo Simone Armanni
2. Describe your emotions
How to do? To be able to do this you need to know yourself a little. And the process of self-knowledge passes through description of our emotions. We need to give them a name, label them: possibly without judging them. It is the principle of mindfulness: staying in the present and “looking” at your thoughts, to let them go.
Describing your emotions is only possible if you lower your “activation level” a little. And this simple step can be useful in lowering the level of involvement, which could instead make us lose effectiveness.
3. Is emotion useful? Fear yes, anxiety… it depends
Another fundamental step is understand if the emotion is useful. In general it can be said that you perform at your best when you are a little emotionally activated but not excessively.
This also applies to athletes: there are some who “work” better when they are under a lot of stress (they define themselves high sensation seekerstrong sensation seekers). But in general, if fear, as an ancestral emotion, kept in the reptilian part of our brain, saves our lives from real danger, anxiety can hinder us. Because it is the fear of something that isn’t there, and may never even arrive.
3. Psychology that passes through the body. The breath
To learn to improving one’s emotional regulation is useful to “pass through the body”: emotions, which also derive from the thoughts that grip us or excite us, therefore from the mind, are in fact expressed by a specific symptomatology. Heartbeat, shortness of breath, sweating are clear indicators of an ongoing emotion.
But it also “works” the other way around. That is, we can act on the body to feel better emotionally. In this sense the breath represents a keystone.
Qwhen we inhale we activate ours system nervous nicetico, which has an exciting and preparing function the organism to face the danger. With each inhale we are therefore a little more charged power. The exhalation activate instead The system nervous paranicetico, That And responsible for relaxation. We have enormous power, to learn to harness with a little conscious breathing: which must be diaphragmatic and complete.
4. Work in prevention: always take care of yourself to better cope with stressful situations
Another useful strategy to steal from sports psychology to avoid being overwhelmed by emotions is work in prevention. That is, having a lifestyle that guarantees physical well-being: and athletes obviously lead the way. Taking care of yourself means limiting your vulnerability and equipping yourself as best as possible to handle life’s shocks as best as possible and without too much effort. How you do it? Sleeping well, eating healthily, doing regular sports. The usual good rules that we neglect when we are in the work loop. Thus ending up withstanding stress and fatigue worse.
5. The rules for a perfect “to do list”.
Making a list of goals is very useful in achieving them. But only if it’s done well. The premise is that a “to do list” must be organized based on priorities: you can’t do everything at once.
The first piece of advice is to organize a weekly calendar, specifying the daily priorities that simply cannot be postponed.
Secondly, it is useful to give yourself a little more time than the commitment deserves. This frees you from the anxiety of a possible delay.
Third point: plan for breaks. The most effective people are those who know how to take breaks.
6. Also put breaks and “me time” on your agenda
Finally, consider “time for us” in our to do list: be it half an hour of running, reading a book, going out with friends. Knowing how to allow yourself to do so is important to prevent discomfort: otherwise you risk ending up in a loop of pure duty, without knowing how to allow yourself pleasure anymore.
7. No more multitasking. Always do one thing at a time
The rule, then, which applies to the most intense moments of work as well as to breaks and moments of pleasure, is one: do one thing at a time, without anticipating or rethinking, without attempting a two-in-one, ever. The effectiveness of the action depends on it, as well as our well-being.
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