A07. Automatic thoughts: friend or foe?

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Immediately before or during a performance, negative thoughts or images such as "I'm going to fail" or "This is bad" may pop into your head . These are called automatic thoughts . If the thoughts are unexpected or something you don't want to think about, you may be shocked and freeze for a moment as a short-circuited anxiety reaction . Or this may trigger your conscious circuits to work, causing you to feel confused, anxious, depressed, or scared. In either case, automatic thoughts become a stressor and significantly reduce your performance level . The negative experience becomes a trauma, and from then on, you may feel more anxious before a performance and more automatic thoughts may pop up. Some people may even develop the yips .

Some people think that these thoughts come to them because they "lack confidence" or "are mentally weak," and in an attempt to somehow become mentally stronger or overcome them, they engage in more intense training or engage in mental training such as Zen meditation or standing under a waterfall. However, despite such efforts, these thoughts tend to resurface at important times, and many people conclude that "I guess I just have a weak mind" or "I'm not cut out to be an athlete," and end up quitting the sport.

These automatic thoughts that arise on their own and disrupt our minds, bodies, and actions - are they our enemies or our allies? I hope to one day be able to explain my thoughts and how I deal with them.

The 2024 Major League Baseball World Series began with the Dodgers winning three games and the Yankees winning one, and the Yankees were leading by five points after the fourth inning. In the top of the fifth inning, the Dodgers' leadoff batter got on base with a hit, and the next batter hit a normal, easy-to-catch fly ball to center field. However, Judge, who had hit a home run that day , dropped the ball, which was an easy hit . This error led to the Yankees being overtaken, and the Dodgers won the championship. When I looked closely at the video of this catch, I noticed that Judge's eyes were already on the runner on first base before the ball entered his glove. He may have had an automatic thought that "If I throw the ball to first base quickly, I can get a double play," which drew his attention to the next play, resulting in the error .