Self-Image: How Do You See Yourself?
Written by Bryce Smith
“Our self image, strongly held, essentially determines what we become.” ~Maxwell Maltz
Arthur Ashe once said, “You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself.” With social media exploding in popularity and accessibility, athletes all over the world are sharing their best performances of the day. With that, many of us are starting to compare ourselves with these online images of elite athletes and it could potentially cause us to lose sight of our own goals.
The path to improving as an athlete is learning to control what we can control ourselves. Olga Korbut explained that “This ability to conquer oneself is no doubt the most precious of all things sports bestows on us.” This concept begins with knowing and understanding our own self-image. If you do not feel good about yourself, you tend to not perform well. Those with a negative self-image are often self destructive. One great example of this is the famous athlete, Darryl Strawberry. He had so much talent and had so many opportunities to be successful, yet he would always defeat himself through drug abuse. His own self-image was so low that he would turn to drugs.
With many of our athletes here at Invictus, we emphasize the importance of positive self-talk and of visualizing yourself being successful. If you don’t see yourself being successful, then your chances of succeeding are lowered. Many athletes have the problem of short-changing themselves when they do well and beating themselves up when they don’t do so well. Just like the body wants to maintain a level of balance or homeostasis, the mind also needs to stay even keel; never getting too high or too low. It is important to take a long hard look at yourself and develop a positive self image because in sports as in life, the first step to success is getting out of your own way.
If, in your head, you look good and feel good, then you are likely to play good. According to Maxwell Maltz, “your best outfit is self-confidence.” Get out there, believe in yourself, rock it, and own it.
References
1) Mack, Gary, and David Casstevens. Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence. New York: Contemporary, 2001. Print.