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Can Athletes Be Mindful and Feel Angry? Part I

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Yes, you can  be angry and be mindful. Mindfulness does not mean feeling zen in every moment. What is most important is awareness and then what you do with your anger and angry athleteshow you use it. There is a simple reason why mindfulness can be challenging: it means that the responsibility for emotional and other reactions and responses are on your shoulders.

There is definitely a place for anger. You might have to talk yourself through it or figure out how to use it to your advantage, especially when competing. Anger often is an emotion associated with action, So using your anger to help get you fired up or motivated might be incredbily helpful.

Athletes: When  are You Mindful and Mindless

Listen and read the words to the tennis player in the video:

His words are all about being really angry with himself and his performance. Then, he says a few simple words to change this around and the technique appears to help him. You might  label these as “green light” words because they help him use his anger positively. He says:

“you can do it, fight…”

Anger can add good fuel to your game if you channel it into motivation. Being completely out of control and not being able to redirect it is more about being mindless. There’s a big difference.

Every athlete has mindless moments, times when their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors “blow up”. But a single moment of awareness can have a huge impact on a response. Remember this famous head butt? This is letting anger and other emotions rule you and not in an advantagous way.

http://youtu.be/N9KYtMrwNyE

 

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Dr. Kris Eiring

About Dr. Kris Eiring

I was introduced to sport psychology when I was competing for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Women’s Track and Field Teams. I believe that it was the combination of my physical training along with some mental training that helped me to compete at the Division I level and be part of an amazing team that won multiple Big 10 championships.

Today, I am a licensed psychologist in the state of Wisconsin and I work with athletes of all levels to help them achieve their goals. There is more to the mental side of training and competing than simply being mentally tough. You also need to be mentally smart. My work is no substitute for a sound physical training program but it is an important element in giving athletes the edge they might need to excel and reach their potential.

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