Hockey
Managing Negative Self-Talk
·1 min read
What to Know
• Self-talk shapes confidence, decision-making, and performance.
• Negative self-talk can lead to overthinking, doubt, and poor execution.
• Elite athletes train their internal dialogue just like their physical skills.
What Helps
• Catch it. Notice critical or defeatist thoughts.
• Challenge it. Would you say that to a teammate?
• Change it. Reframe to performance-focused cues
• Practice. Replace negative self-talk with 1–2 go-to mantras under pressure.
• Use self-talk resets between shifts to stay locked in.