During the past week I have expanded my training related reading to delve into the field of sports psychology. In very general terms, this is an area that looks at the mental characteristics, mindset and attitudes of athletes in the sports performance arena, both in the context of training and competition. It is thought that athletes that do well share some common attitudes or mental approaches, while athletes that experience problems in training and/or competition frequently lack certain mental characteristics or qualities (assuming of course their problems are not attributable to injury or lack of sport specific skill or strength). Simply put, if the body follows the mind, and you can get the mind ‘right’, you’ll get the body right (i.e. get the body to do what you want).

Although my readings are by no means extensive, I have begun to notice some common themes. In an attempt to remember and keep these in mind (no pun intended!), I’ve come up with two acronyms. The first, ‘No P.A.I.N’, which I define to mean ‘No Pessimism, Anxiety, Insecurity or Negativity’, which will help lay the groundwork to achieve ‘G.A.I.N.S’, which I define to mean a ‘Great Attitude to Invoke New Success’. Lose the PAIN, get the GAINS.