How to improve your attention?

Attention is a limited resource, and we cannot be aware of all the parameters of our experience at the same time. So, how to improve your attention? We have to choose what to focus on first, which is called the attentional focus.

Some athletes have a biased attentional focus. For example, anxious people tend to focus their attention on the threatening and dangerous aspects of the future, while athletes with depression can focus their attention on the imperfect and negative aspects of themselves, others, and the world. This can have significant impacts on emotional well-being and behaviors.

Attentional focus can change automatically or voluntarily. As athletes, we have power over our attentional focus, and we can influence it voluntarily and learn to automatically focus our attention on certain characteristics of our sport.

Distractions are plentiful on the athletic field, both in training and even more so in competition. They can completely take you out of what you have to do in the present moment. So how do you keep yourself fully focused on the task at hand and give all your attention to achieving the best possible performance or learning a new technique?

Attention, a Limited Resource

Attention can be defined as a finite resource that is allocated to certain objects or mental events rather than others. It can be difficult to manage your attentional effort over time, especially in some sports where athletes have to maintain a level of vigilance for a long time, sometimes hours. In other activities, the attentional effort will be brief but repeated, as in the throwing or jumping disciplines in athletics.

Another important issue concerning the attention of the athlete is what to focus on. As the stock of attention is limited, attention must be directed to the relevant information. There are different types of attentional focus, such as internal (focusing on my heart rate), external (visual cues on the ground), on the gesture (the action of grouping in a somersault), or on the result (the target, the trajectory of the ball that I want to produce). Researchers in sports psychology have tried to compare the effectiveness of these different types of attentional focus without reaching a real consensus. Experts in their discipline use several attentional focuses (in a limited number) to prepare and carry out the same action.

The third attention problem for athletes is the difficulty in staying focused on these attentional focuses when the distractions are too strong. An emotion (stress, fear, joy, shame, etc.) can grab an athlete's attention, without them being able to go back to what they are doing. In athletic contexts, the slightest deviation in the focus of attention can be fatal.

How to Improve Your Attention

The effects of attentional focus are not interesting in themselves, but in what they produce as an effect. By focusing attention on the threatening aspects, often leads the anxious person to avoid new situations because of fear of danger. For a person suffering from depression, focusing constantly on the negative aspects deprives them of hope and reinforces the feeling of helplessness, thus limiting any action aimed at changing things or engaging in pleasant activities. Attentional focus, therefore, influences the way of perceiving and making sense of a situation (cognitive), the way to react to it emotionally (emotion), and the motivation and behavior of the person (behavior).

So how do you improve your attention as an athlete? Here are some tips:

1. Set Goals

Setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals (SMART) can help you maintain your attentional focus. Focus on goals that are relevant to your training and competition.

2. Use Imagery

Mental imagery can help you prepare for competition and stay focused during it. Visualize yourself performing well and focusing on the relevant information.

3. Practice Mindfulness

Train Your Attention as You Train a Physical Quality

Just as physical preparation is essential for an athlete's success, so is attentional preparation. It's important to train your attention while respecting the specificities of your sport and the context of competition.

A show jumping competition rider who trains alone may struggle to mobilize the right attentional effort in competition. They must be fully focused on a sequence of ten obstacles in a competition that lasts only a minute or two, with many potential distractions in the environment.

To maintain attentional effort in competition, you may need to increase attentional "loads" in training. Set up situations where attentional effort must be maintained twice as long as in competition or overload the athlete with information.

The coach must precisely define what the athlete should pay attention to, giving them simple, relevant, and few attentional focuses. These are real "anchors" that allow the athlete to find their way back to their attention. Define these focus together, ensuring they have meaning and make sense about the work in progress and the athlete's skill acquisition.

Motivation can also serve as an attention channel. Highly motivated athletes tend to have fewer attention problems. By setting goals that arouse interest, represent a challenge, and are achievable, you promote an optimal state of attention. Define a clear objective for each competition, match, session, and even exercise. The effect of motivation on the athlete's attention will be all the more important as the athlete defines their goal and the means to achieve it.

To learn more about how to improve your attention?: https://www.MaximumComposure.com

Next read: https://mentalaccelerator.com/resource/purpose-vision/what-are-the-mistakes-in-mental-training