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August 14, 2011

Kamphoff: Attitude key to athletic performance

By Cindra Kamphoff The Free Press

— The past year has been one of my best years professionally, personally and athletically. In many ways, I feel as if I am flourishing.

I’ve become a faster runner. I improved my time in last year’s Mankato Marathon by 14 minutes over my previous fastest marathon. Runner’s World, Shape and Women’s Running magazines asked me to contribute to several articles.

I’ve met more new people locally and around the world than I could ever have expected. And I’ve been happier in every aspect of my life.

I owe all of that to the mental shift I made last summer.

I decided to practice what I preach and teach in my classes at Minnesota State University and with the clients I work with at The Runner’s Edge. I decided to fully integrate the principles of sport psychology into my daily life. That shift included a personal commitment to talk to myself differently.

What did I do differently? I worked to control my own inner critic and squashed my own self-criticism. Instead of telling myself, “There is no way I can run a faster time on a hilly marathon course,” I said, “Of course I can run a faster time. I will be ready for those hills both physically and mentally.” Then, I ran more hill workouts and started telling myself, “I love hills. These repeats are making me stronger. I am a good hill runner.”

I used forward thinking instead of backward thinking. I never reminded myself that my best marathon time was five years ago, before I had two kids. Instead, I dreamt of running strong during the race and the possibilities that existed. I thought big and dreamt big.

I have learned to use this mindset in other performances as well, including my work as a professor and consultant. I dream of the book I will write someday about the psychology of running. I dream about the Center of Performance Psychology I want to start on campus to help athletes of all abilities reach their potential using their mind. I dream of making a difference in the minds of athletes throughout the world .

The science behind the power of this shift is clear. In her book “Positivity,” Barbara Fredrickson talks about the science of positive thoughts and emotions on performance. After years of research in her lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she arrived at what she calls “the positivity ratio.” This 3-to-1 ratio — three positive emotions to one negative emotion — is the point where we flourish. If this ratio is off balance, we can go into a downward spiral.

Think of the last time you performed — perhaps in an athletic event, during an interview, in a musical concert or during an important presentation. If you had negative thoughts or emotions about yourself or the situation, you likely did not perform up to your potential.

Let’s imagine a runner who may say to themselves leading up to the Mankato Marathon, “I am not ready for 26.2 miles. There is no way I can finish that race. I am not a runner.” Do you think this runner will perform up to his or her potential? Likely not.

The first step of taking control of your thoughts to improve your performance is awareness. We must first be aware of this voice, or “self-talk,” in our head before we can control it. Once you are aware of your thoughts, ask yourself the question, “Is this thought helping me or not?” If it is not helping you, you can change that thought.

The runner mentioned above could say, “I am the most ready I will be for 26.2 miles. I will make the best of my race. I am a runner.”

Consider making a similar personal commitment to yourself that I did a year ago. Squash that negative thinking and self-doubt. Work to have that 3-to-1 ratio. You will find that the consequences on your performance will be dramatic.



Cindra Kamphoff, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Minnesota State University. She also operates The Runner’s Edge, a program designed to help athletes reach their potential. Her column will appear in The Free Press periodically. To contact her, send an email to cindra.kamphoff@mnsu.edu

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