We talk to ourselves all day. This self-talk helps us to accomplish tasks, focus, and get motivated. Alternately, it can defeat us, sabotage us, and keep us from realizing our potential. What we say to ourselves is powerful and key to our ability to do just about everything.
Harnessing the power of our self-talk is a great performance optimization strategy to master. It improves both our physical and cognitive performance by building confidence, improving focus and concentration, increasing motivation, decreasing negative self-talk, and managing anxiety. Additionally, it can be deployed in the moment when we need to think quickly on our feet, pay close attention, or find that extra ounce of determination.
When we speak about performance improvement or enhancement, many people assume we are talking about athletes, pilots, and other elite performers. It’s true that elite performers are trained in the gambit of mental skills. However, these same psychological or mental skills are foundational for all of us. So—yes, self-talk can improve your professional tennis game, but it can also help to improve your attention, concentration, and emotional regulation; increase your motivation; and direct your energy toward essentially anything. So, whether you want to motivate yourself to do the dishes, get your application together for law school, improve your golf game, or ace flight training, self-talk is key.
Essentially, there are two kinds of self-talk linked to performance: instructional and motivational. They both serve to improve our performance, but in different ways. What follows is a basic guide to performance-enhancing self-talk and the information needed for you to develop your own self-talk playbook.
Instructional Self-Talk
Instructional self-talk is what it sounds like. You walk yourself through a task or problem, often with the help of a memory aid such as a mantra or acronym, or provide yourself a simple reminder cue as to how to do something. These strategies allow you to focus on the current situation or task at hand, develop effective habits related to that specific task, and ensure that you follow correct procedures. Instructional self-talk is particularly powerful when learning a new skill, during an emergency, or when having to execute a complex task.
Most of us remember learning how to use a fire extinguisher through the use of the acronym PASS (Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the handle, and Sweep from side to side). Using the acronym more easily allows us to focus on the steps, execute the steps correctly, and gain self-control in an emergency situation. Likewise, if you’ve ever played sports, you’ve learned cues to remind you of the most effective ways to execute movements and plays.
Professions that involve high-risk and high-demand situations capitalize on instructional self-talk. Pilots and flight students, for example, know that during an emergency or task overload in the cockpit, to fall back on "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" and then rely on the next checklist. Instructional self-talk improves cognitive and physical performance by providing direction, focusing attention, improving concentration, and helping to manage emotions.
Some simple rules of instructional self-talk include focusing on what to do, as opposed to what not to do, and keeping it relatively short and task-focused. During an emergency or if anxiety has crept in, taking one diaphragmatic breath can provide the pause you need to access your instructional self-talk and stay on track.
Motivational Self-Talk
Motivational self-talk is also what it sounds like. You increase your focus, drive, and confidence in your own abilities to accomplish the task at hand, be that getting up off of the couch to go for a walk or instilling confidence in yourself during a high-stakes sporting event or training evolution. Motivational self-talk is best used in situations in which you need an extra dose of determination, or for an already mastered skill to enhance attentional control during execution of a task.
Studies have shown that for enhancing emotional regulation, third-person self-talk is more effective than speaking to yourself in the first person. Thus, “You got this!” may be a more effective example of motivational self-talk than “I got this!”
What motivational self-talk will work for you? Ask yourself: What would I say to a good friend who is in this same situation as I am? We tend to be kinder to our friends than to ourselves, and this allows us to better focus objectively on the task, making this an effective way to find exactly what you need. So: You can do this! Let's go! You have trained for this moment and are ready. Keep moving. (You get the idea.)
Self-Talk Essential Reads
In conclusion, whether you need motivation to get started, the determination to keep going, or instructional cues to navigate a challenging task, self-talk is a powerful performance tool that is available anytime, anywhere. Like any mental skill, effective self-talk takes practice, but the payoff extends to virtually every aspect of your life. Start building your self-talk playbook by identifying a few simple instructional cues for important tasks and motivational phrases that work for you. Practice them, refine them, and put them to use. After all, if you're going to talk to yourself all day, you might as well make the conversation productive.