Makean impact
sportpsychologyresearcher
AlisterMcCormickhas
developedthe'IMPACT'toolto
ensureyou’vechosenamantra
thatwillreallyworkforyou
identifywhatyouwanttoachieve.
matchthemantratoyourneeds.
practisedifferentmantrasconsistently.
ascertainwhichoneworksbestforyou.
createaspecificplanforwhentouseit.
trainyourselftousethoseplansautomatically.
home in time to see his baby being born. His next challenge
is a 100-mile trek across frozen Mongolia, and he expects to
bring that mantra back into play.LISTEN TO YOUR THOUGHTS
To create a mantra that really works for you, sport
psychology researcher Alister Mccormick is the go-to guy.
He suggests you rst notice your current self-talk while
exercising and how that a ects how you feel. You may
know instantly what mantra you would use; you may be
unknowingly using one already. To nd out, you can use
a psychological technique called ‘ inking Aloud’, which
simply means recording yourself while training. You do a
regular training session with a small dictaphone attached to
your kit and narrate your thoughts for the whole session.
When you listen back you may be able to identify what
you were saying when you performed well. is could be
something you can adapt into your mantra.
If you don’t have something obvious, Mccormick
suggests you gure out why you want your mantra: “You
should identify brief and memorable self-talk statements
that ‘feel right’ for you and that are purposeful for achieving
your aim. Trying these statements during training, re ecting
on their usefulness, and then keeping the helpful ones will
be your next step.” He suggests you don’t just have one,