A simple way to keep your mind in the game is to write down all your off-the-field or non-test concerns before a practice, a game, or a test.
For example:
- Write down concerns about an argument with a friend, a sick pet, or an argument with your parents.
- Then, leave the list of concerns in your locker, car, or at home.
- Remind yourself that these concerns will be there after the practice, game, or test, and there’s nothing to do about them now anyway.
- After the game or test, you can focus fully on these concerns.
It’s not that these concerns are more important than the test or game you’re in.
They’re likely far more important, but focusing on them during a performance will only increase your stress, impair your focus, and diminish your performance, which makes them unimportant when you’re on the field or in a test.
