Self-talk is the positive and negative dialogue that goes on inside an athletes head. Self-talk impacts performance by affecting attitude, which then affects behavior. The type of self-talk generated by an athlete will determine whether performance is improved or impaired. Researchers have found that Olympic qualifiers and national team athletes used positive self-talk as a motivation strategy and to enhance self-confidence. All athletes, who want to improve, need to increase the frequency and variety of positive self-talk.
An important feature of positive self-talk is to have a variety of reinforcing words. Usually, athletes do not have a rich vocabulary of reinforcing words. Therefore, it is important to increase the number of positive words and the manner in which you say them.
The following list contains synonyms for the word “good”. What other important and potentially effective words can you think of that have a strong positive connotation?
- Top notch
- Capital
- First class
- First rate
- Magnificent
- Stupendous
- Superlative
- Radical
- Super
- Fabulous
- Amazing
- Far-out
- Dynamite
- Phenomenal
- Tremendous
- Gorgeous
- A-1
- Grand
- Beautiful
- Incredible
- Fantastic
- Proud
- Superb
- Splendid
- Right-on
- Hot
- Terrific
- Great
- Marvelous
- Wonderful
- Grand
- Excellent
- Unbelievable
- Out of this world
- increasing or decreasing the volume of the expression
- emphasizing or de-emphasizing the tone of syllables within the words
- changing the pitch of the words when you say them
By constantly changing the content and manner of presentation of positive self-talk, the nature of the positive self-talk will maintain meaningfulness.
