3 Strategies for Busting Slumps
Things are going great and then all of a sudden, your performance takes a turn for the worse. Maybe it’s bad luck, maybe it’s some tough opponents, or maybe it’s an issue with your technique. Regardless of the cause, you realize that your streak of bad outcomes has turned into a slump.
Slumps are incredibly infuriating for athletes to experience. For many, it seems to come out of nowhere. There is also often a sense of hopelessness as many athletes struggle to get out of the slump. Just like digging a hole, the harder they try, the deeper into their slump they fall. While the best method in dealing with slumps is prevention (and honestly it is easier than you’d think), here are three strategies to use in order to bust a slump.
Strategy #1 – Have fun.
You are playing a game that you love. Start acting like it! Goof off and smile during training and warm ups. Connect with your teammates. If one area of the sport is being challenging, focus on the good stuff and find the joy there. If you need to, get away from the intensity of your current training and go watch younger athletes play your sport or an old video of you enjoying playing. Remind yourself that you are not “working,” you are playing and you are choosing to be where you are because it is fun.
Strategy #2 – Fill up the other cups.
You are more than an athlete. There are many other aspects of your life that are also important. Sometimes, you get a bit too focused on just one area, which leads you to getting out of balance. Take some time filling up the other cups: family, friends, health, school, and spirituality. It may even be something you do just for you, like reading a book, playing an instrument, or watching a movie. When you can get yourself in a better balance, there’s less pressure on the athlete part of you and you can play more freely.
Strategy #3 – Keep it simple.
In the middle of slumps, your brain begins to overwork. You analyze anything and everything that could possibly be done differently before attempting all of the changes. Instead, push back on this reaction by thinking about the simplest component related to your slump. If you were to ask a 5-year-old to do the task you are struggling with, what would you tell them to focus on? What is that one thing that you know makes everything else follow suit exactly as it needs to? Figure out that one simple component, go all in on it, and then trust your many years of training.
Slumps are common in sports, but they aren’t something that you have to be stuck with. Pick a strategy and bust your slump!
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