2 Steps To Positive Self-Talk For Triathletes Using Affirmations

Do your thoughts feel like concrete in your head, heavy and taking up space? If you want to increase your performance and get faster in triathlon, you need to be able to change your thoughts from negative to positive quickly and easily. This is where powerful, positive affirmations come in. Here’s how to create your own in 2 steps.

(Listen to Jo Pickard on The Adelaide Show, Season 1 Episode 2 to discover how her life and career transformed when she replaced her negative inner voice for a powerful positive supportive one.)

What Are Affirmations?

Performance enhancing affirmations involve using your body and your voice, combined with powerful positive words to condition your mind, that you can achieve your goals and you have everything you need to achieve them.

By repeating your positive, powerful and productive affirmations on a daily basis, they stick in your head (think of the song ‘It’s A Small World’, once you’ve heard it, you play it over and over again…), which means you’re changing your self-talk, which is changing your mind and physiology for increased performance.

(Listen to my podcast interview with one of the UK’s top personal development experts Phil Parker on The Adelaide Show, to find out how by influencing your mind, you can change your physiology.)

If you combine your affirmations with motivational and inspirational music, or your very own tune, you’re suddenly turbo charging their power too. This is because research has shown that when we listen to music, it releases dopamine and allows our brain to process information in a powerful way. Discover the power of music on influencing your mindset and how you can harness it by reading my blog on 5 Ways To Use Music To Change Your Mindset.)

I don’t believe it’s fair that we should be at the whim of outside stuff influencing how we feel, by using affirmations we can demand ourselves to step into a really great state. Here’s how:

How To Create Your Incantations

Step 1. Write out any negative beliefs and thoughts that are holding you back

For example, you may often repeat to yourself;

“I am tired.”

“I don’t have the time to do ______________”

“I can’t do _______________”

“I don’t have enough money _____________”

“I am feeling really down today”

“I don’t have enough experience to do that”

“I’m scared”

“I feel really overwhelmed”

Remember, what you repeatedly say to yourself soon becomes a belief and then it becomes part of your identity and will be reflected in how you do everything. What you say, you will become - so let’s make sure it’s positive and what you want!

Step 2. Re-write the negative beliefs and thoughts into powerful and positive thoughts and phrases, that will enable you to increase your performance.

I do NOT want to see you writing your incantations like this:

“I am feeling really down today” to “I am not feeling really down today”

The use of ‘not’ is unacceptable.

This is because when you use ‘not’, your brain doesn’t hear ‘not’. All your brain hears is ‘really down’ and it will therefore fire the neuropathways for you to continue feeling down - which you don't want.

It’s just like if I ask you NOT to think of Einstein riding a purple elephant with green spots juggling five pink cats.

In order for your brain not to think about Einstein, it first has to understand what it should not be thinking about it. So it creates that image and/or video of Einstein as you read that sentence. Just like when you say ‘I’m not feeling really down today’, the brain creates the feeling of down-ness, so it understand what not to feel/think about.

So I don’t want using negative and unhelpful words - not ‘NOT’.

I want you to write your affirmations using only POSITIVE, PRODUCTIVE and POWERFUL words. For example:

“I am feeling full of incredible energy and happiness, I can feel these amazing feelings flowing and circulating through my body and mind, lighting me up, empowering me to achieve all of my goals. I am so excited to get on with my day and kick some ass!”

Here are some more examples;

“I have all of the time in the world. Each one of us has 24 hours in a day and I MAKE the time for whatever I’m committed to and absolutely nail my day! I hit every goal to the best of my ability and more! I make sure I complete the small daily processes that enable me to achieve my big goals.Everyone wonders how I get everything done. Even Will Smith and Oprah congratulate me on my productivity.”

“The Universe’s wealth is circulating in my life, its wealth flows to me in avalanches of abundance. All of my needs, desires and goals are met instantaneously by infinite intelligence. I am one with the Universe and the Universe is everything.” (A modified version of Tony Robbins’ incantations).

“I am now commanding my unconscious mind to direct me in helping as many people as possible, today, to improve their lives, by giving me The Strength, The Energy, The Positive Emotion, The Persuasion, The Humour, The Opportunities, The Knowledge, The Skill - Whatever it takes to show these people, to help these people and get these people to change their lives NOW!”

“Money is all around me and it flows to me, I am resourceful and can always find a way to make money. I make money from doing the things I love and this year I made all the money I desired to live the love I truly love and deserve.”

“I am absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE having the immense Jocko Wilko-like discipline to follow my super cool, badass routine. It gives me The Energy, The Productivity, The Positive Emotion, The Opportunities, The Time, The Freedom, The Peace and Everything I need to achieve my goals and live the live I love and deserve to live.”

“Every day in every way, I’m getting better and better” (Another Tony Robbins)

“Every little cell in my body is happy, every little cell in my body is well. I must say, every little cell, in my body is happy and well!” (I sing this to a merry little tune!)

“I seek abundance and I trust the laws of attraction of the universe. I have identified the exact things that I desire and now I’m going to relax and let all of them flow into my experience.” (Thank you Rob Lawrence for this one.)

What’s your favourite affirmation? Send your favourite to me on Instagram @adelaidegoodeve as I’d love to hear it and if you’d like, I can add more!