The Power of Self-Talk

“Convincing Yourself You Can”

In November 2013 a study was conducted by the Director of Research at the Centre for Sports Studies at the University for Kent, to show athletes they could indeed disagree with their own brain and mask negative signals with encouraging thoughts.

24 young athletic volunteers agreed to participate in a cycling endurance test.

To establish fitness baselines for each person, the men and women were asked to ride a training bicycle at 80 percent of their maximum effort until they were exhausted and could not go on. 

During the tests, not only were their heart rate, work rate and speed recorded, but even their facial muscle contractions showing their pain in the form of grimaces. After the session, the volunteers were also asked for their rate of perceived exertion (RPE), a standard self-report measure of effort.

For the next two weeks, the group was split in two. The first group was told to continue their normal exercise routine until the next test. However, the second group was instructed on how to use self-talk during their workouts.

They each chose four motivating affirmations, two for the early part of a session like “feeling strong today” and two for the final stretch like “I can do this.” They incorporated these statements into their daily exercise routines.

On returning to the lab, the two groups were asked to do the same cycling to exhaustion test. The second group were allowed to use their self-talk phrases during the session. Sure enough, that group was able to last on the bike 18% longer than their initial baseline level while the first group performed about the same as before.

Interestingly, even though the physiological markers of heart rate and oxygen use stayed the same for the self-talk group, they reported a lower RPE.

In other words, they had fooled their brain by blocking the negative signals from their body!

This study is the first to demonstrate that self-talk significantly reduces RPE and enhances endurance performance.

The findings support the psychobiological model of endurance performance and illustrate that interventions designed to specifically target favourable changes in perception of effort are beneficial to endurance performance.

A Game Changer says…

The use of self-talk is a fascinating conundrum as it can establish such strong neurological connections with the brain.

Used correctly it can become a wonderfully handy tool to empower oneself both for motivation and for calm.

Used incorrectly, it can be both destabilising and detrimental in the extreme.

As with any skill we learn in life, the aim is to rehearse and subsequently filter the skill into our unconscious mind so it can be easily repeated time and time again from a simple instruction.

Symbolism is also a very powerful tool to use when it comes to how the unconcious absorbs information.

You may have noticed how NFL players often hold up four fingers at the start of the 4th quarter. This is to signify that they should dig deep and finish strong. Even if their legs are dead and they are ready to quit they are convincing themselves to compete for one more quarter.

This type of self-talk motivation is used by many athletes but can be utilised in the business world and in every walk of life just as easily.