Many athletes stay up the night before a game worrying if they are strong enough, tough enough, good enough.
What they should be doing is seeing and thinking how they will defeat their opponent.
Athletes have a powerful tool to help them stay focused in the competition…
Today we are featuring Part 8 of a series of interviews with Raven Magwood, a teenage author, motivational speaker, and TV talk show host.
In this video, Raven shares how to visualize success in gymnastics to achieve your goals, no matter what obstacles they will face along the way.
I visualized a lot as a gymnast. Sometimes my coach would have us all lie down on the floor and have us visualize competing our routine perfectly.
At first I said to myself, “Does this really help? Why are we laying on the floor doing this?” I realized it did.
As I got older, I would do that even by myself, not just at the gym. I would come home, lie in my bed, and visualize myself doing that same routine, sticking the landing and catching my release moves.
Even beyond gymnastics, I visualized to this day. I set my goals and visualize as if I have already achieved my goals.
I visualize myself giving a great speech. I visualize kids being inspired and going off doing what they are supposed to do in life. So I still do it and I think it is a powerful tool.
How did I recover from my injuries? I am a strong Christian, so I definitely prayed a lot through my injury and asked God to heal me.
I saw myself being the same track and field athlete as I was before. I saw myself the same person I was before.
I could use that as a visualization technique knowing that God was going to heal me. I was going to be fine. I was still going to move in the direction I wanted to move.
I knew if I wanted to get to where I wanted to be, then there were things that had to be done. It does get hard.
There were a lot of exercises I had to do for my knees. “Do I have to do this again? I have done this three times today. Do I have to do it the fourth time?”
Then I would tell myself, “Raven, this is what you want and this is where you want to be. If you are going to be the same gymnast that you were before, if you are going to be where you want to be in the future even better, then this is what you just have to do.”
Because I knew the purpose in what I was doing, it was easier for me to do it.
If you missed the first Part of this series click here.
To go to the next part of this series click here.
Raven Magwood is the author of The 7 Practices of Exceptional Student Athletes. As a motivational speaker, Raven started the Student Athlete Pledge in an effort to encourage student athletes to be well –rounded individuals who excel academically, athletically, and professionally.
For more information, visit www.RavenMagwood.com or www.StudentAthletePledge.com.