Doublethink is a great mental model for athletes.
It’s holding two contradictory beliefs in your head at the same time.
And deploying them at different times.
Let’s look at 2 sports hockey players love.
Golf and (well hockey)
Golf Example:
Don’t rely on luck.
Use a mental model instead.
Doublethink in golf might look something like this.
The first part is the extreme levels of doubt:
what club should I use?
should it be a full swing with it?
what are we aiming at? why?
let’s walk off the exact yardage to be sure?
Then comes extreme confidence.
Smiles and says, “yeah 8 iron.” Like he knew the whole time.
Hockey Example:
In hockey, I like to teach this doublethink as 2 different mindsets.
One for practice.
One for games.
In practice, you should practice egoless. With no doubt that you must get better. You’re currently not good enough and can’t waste a minute out there.
Make mistakes so you can take mental reps and more physical reps to correct mistakes or speed up your learning.
Phrases to associate with your practice mindset:
sticky learning
ruthless about correcting mistakes
mental reps after physical reps
In games, you should play with extreme confidence. You’re the best player on the rink and even if you make a mistake, you know your success rates and that a game-changing play is coming.
Phrases to associate with your game mindset
free and easy
forgive and reset after mistakes
mistakes and misfires are part of this game
This was an excerpt from our book, “It’s All About You.” Check it out here: