the tuesday transition - issue 37
JANUARY 3, 2023: Happy New Year! If you have been reading The Tuesday Transition throughout 2022, THANK YOU! I am so grateful for your support. If you are a new subscriber, welcome! What you can expect is one email a week from me that dives into a mental skills topic relative to today’s female soccer player, and their coaches & parents. Occasionally I’ll plug my latest creation or my flagship 1-on-1 Mindset Mastery Academy program (the winter session starts January 16th!) But I do try to keep those few and far between and simply focus on my #1 goal, which is starting helpful conversations that empower players to own their growth and take action when it comes to expanding their mental performance skills, growing their confidence and prioritizing their overall wellbeing.
Which brings us to what I wanted to talk about today: OVERTHINKING in soccer
The more and more 1-on-1 work that I do with players, the more and more I hear how overthinking is just devastating their game. It’s hurting their performance and really just making soccer NOT FUN. Hearing this over and over again makes me feel heavy-hearted. It also is what drives me to want to help because I truly want to see every single soccer player out there not only be able to maximize their potential and play their best soccer, but wholeheartedly ENJOY this beautiful game.
So, what to soccer players typically overthink and ruminate about?
- dwelling on a decision that they made in the past
- worrying about something in the future
- unable to make decisions, overwhelmed, leading to inaction
- hung up on missed opportunities or ‘should-have’ moments
- the list goes on…
Overthinking can really do a number to your soccer game. This is because it completely takes your attention away from the present moment. Overthinking impedes your focus and concentration by filling your head with repetitive, all-consuming thoughts that GET IN THE WAY of you being able to fully focus on the game in front of you. It GETS IN THE WAY of you being able to pay attention and concentrate on the controllable aspects of your game – and because of this, it GETS IN THE WAY of you being able to execute to the best of your ability. Oh ya, overthinking also kills your ability to build confidence.
Basically, OVERTHINKING SUCKS. There's no other way to put it.
Overthinking has become a huge obstacle for many, many players, one that can feel impossible to overcome. If you are a player who overthinks, or you are the coach or parent of a player who overthinks, take note here: telling yourself to just “get out of your head” (or telling this to your player) is NOT EFFECTIVE. It won’t work and will most likely make the situation even more stressful by increasing the pressure to not just play well and not make mistakes, but now to also STOP OVERTHINKING.
Players, it’s completely normal to struggle with this. That’s because, most likely, you have never been taught HOW to stop overthinking. You don’t have to feel bad or ashamed that you can’t seem to figure it out. OVERCOMING OVERTHINKING IS REALLY REALLY HARD. If you told me that you thought overcoming overthinking was easy, I honestly 100% wouldn’t believe you.
Heres’ the deal with overthinking: moving past it, being done with it, STOPPING it – that’s a mental performance skill. And how many players spend a lot of time training mental skills? Not many. Not many at all. If you want to stop overthinking in soccer, you cannot just tell yourself to stop doing it, you have to seize your own growth, you have to get INVESTED in trying to figure out how to actually get past this. In other words, you have to tackle the mental piece of your game.
Overcoming overthinking requires a mindset shift. It requires looking at the situation in a completely different light. Here’s one place to start: YOU ARE NOT YOUR MIND. You are not your mind, you simply HAVE a mind. And that mind is the one doing the overthinking. It defaults to overthinking because it has a negative bias (like all brains do) and that has become its habit.
When we don't control our thoughts, our thoughts control us.
This is what is happening when you overthink – your thoughts are controlling you. Your mind is doing its own thing, and that own thing happens to be overthinking.
Here’s the good news though, your identity is not permanently tied to this overthinking trait. You were not born an over-thinker and you do not have to live the rest of your life as an over-thinker. You are simply someone who, RIGHT NOW, is experiencing some trouble with having a mind that overthinks. But it doesn’t have to be that way forever.
Understanding this concept is HUGE. Because along with it also comes the knowledge that YOU HOLD THE POWER to change things. You have the power to rewire your thoughts, to start new habits and to train your brain to do something different.
So, what is that something different that we can train our brain to do?
The solution to overcoming overthinking is to OVERRIDE overthinking with a brand new, intentionally selected, shiny, fresh thought. ONE THAT YOU CHOOSE, not one that your mind chooses.
Although you know how I love a long-winded post, I’m going to cut this conversation here and leave you with some great resources to help you continue on with this quest:
ARTICLE: Self-talk training is THE BEST way to choose and implement new thoughts to override the overthinking. Here’s our blogpost on the 4 most useful types of self-talk to start playing the best soccer of your life
COURSE: Our first ever, brand new mini-course series, Overcoming Mental Hang-ups, goes IN-DEPTH into overthinking in lesson 1 (How to STOP Overthinking and Get out of Your Head) and gives you a step-by-step breakdown of what you can do to move past overthinking.
BOOK: Soundtracks This book by Jon Acuff is a fantastic dive into exactly what I’m talking about here in regards to choosing your thoughts. Here’s the teenager version – Your New Playlist, this comes highly recommended from one of my former players.
I think we can all agree that overthinking in soccer is best for everyone if it stays in 2022. So here’s to 2023, the year where we finally put our foot down, get invested in ourselves and our growth, and figure out a way to get past this challenge and start playing the best (and most ENJOYABLE) soccer of our lives.
Till next week,
💎 What I’m digging: The NWSL 2023 draft will be taking place at the United Soccer Coaches Convention next week, excited to see it live!
👩🏽💻 What I’m reading: Just added Rest is Resistance from the Nap Bishop to my 2023 reading list (yes you read that right, THE NAP BISHOP, love)
🎧 What I’m listening to: This Jay Shetty podcast is on my list for the week: 7 questions to reflect on 2022 and end the year with confidence
Grow your confidence through preparedness.
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Hi everyone! I’m Jenn and I create content to help female soccer players and coaches maximize individual and team potential by developing healthy mindset skills. Join other subscribers and sign up for the newsletter for all my best tips and advice!
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