Train Your Mind Like Your Body: Overcoming Intrusive Thoughts in Competition
At SPMI (Sport Psychology Movement Institute), we work with athletes to help them master the mental game and one of the most common challenges across all sports and levels is intrusive thoughts.
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, negative thoughts that appear during training or competition: “What if I fail?” “I always mess this up.” “Don’t choke.” To the untrained mind, these thoughts can quietly sabotage confidence. What begins as a simple thought can shift an athlete’s belief system from positive to negative, altering behavior and ultimately performance.
But where do intrusive thoughts come from?
Athletes operate in high-pressure environments filled with expectations, evaluation, and consequences. The brain’s natural response under pressure is to scan for threats. Intrusive thoughts are not a sign of weakness. They are a normal byproduct of stress and importance.
The real problem arises when athletes start to believe these thoughts.
As Henry Ford famously said, “Those who believe they can and those who believe they can’t are both right.” When negative thoughts are accepted as truth, they turn into beliefs. Those beliefs then drive behavior such as hesitation, tension, overthinking and the result is inconsistent or underperforming play.
Thoughts become beliefs. Beliefs become behaviors. Behaviors shape results.
Even the greatest athletes in history have faced this challenge.
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, has spoken openly about his struggles with negative self-talk and confidence. Despite his physical dominance, Phelps dealt with intrusive thoughts, especially during high-pressure moments. What helped him wasn’t eliminating negative thoughts, but learning how to respond to them. Through mental training, visualization, and intentional routines, he learned that thoughts do not control performance. Attention and behavior do.
This is a crucial lesson for all athletes: intrusive thoughts are not commands. They only gain power when believed.
5 Strategies to Overcome Intrusive Thoughts
1. Label the Thought
Instead of fighting it, label it: “That’s doubt,” or “That’s fear.” Labeling creates distance and reduces emotional impact.
2. Treat Thoughts as Signals, Not Truths
Intrusive thoughts often signal pressure, not inability. Interpreting them correctly prevents overreaction.
3. Refocus on One Controllable Action
Shift attention away from outcomes and onto a single process cue—breathing, footwork, posture, or routine.
4. Train Self-Talk Intentionally
Confidence is built through prepared internal language. Simple phrases like “Next play” or “Trust the work” keep the mind anchored.
5. Normalize the Experience
Every athlete, elite or developing, experiences intrusive thoughts. Normalizing them removes fear and restores control.
FInal Thoughts:
Intrusive thoughts do not define an athlete’s potential. The difference between struggling athletes and high performers is not the absence of negative thoughts, but the ability to respond to them with skill.
At SPMI, we teach athletes that mental strength isn’t about silencing the mind. It’s about leading it.