With most races cancelled or delayed, now is the perfect time to look at whether your running mindset could use a revamp. A new study published in the journal New Ideas in Psychology found that the mindset with which you approach a new challenge can help you achieve your goals.
In particular, the study found that the qualities of ‘passion’ and ‘grit’ can play an important role in achieving your goals. Researchers compared it to firing an arrow at a target: your passion determines the route, while your grit controls the strength and size of the arrow.
What’s the takeaway for runners? To achieve your goals it pays to cultivate more passion and consistency alongside a mindset that involves believing you’ll succeed as long as you keep working.
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Here’s how to combine both and achieve your goals.
Visualise your goals
‘Compare your current self with the version you want to be. To achieve your goal, write down five things you need to do to become that person,’ says sports psychologist Andy Lane (believeperform.com). ‘Visualise yourself performing at this level with purpose and emotion.’
Get passionate about pain
‘Focus hard on those key sessions that will help you improve,’ says Lane. ‘Mentally rehearse the session before heading out, use imagery and self-talk to generate intense emotions and get pumped.’
Reflect and repeat
'If you wish you’d performed better in a session, recreate it the week after and focus on the challenge of doing better this time,’ says Lane. ‘Raise your emotional intensity to change your performance.’
