Success in cheerleading depends on more than executing all the right moves; it also relies on thinking in the right way.

I have been examining some common cognitive distortions cheerleaders (and all people) use which impede progress and undermine cheerleading performance.  Today I will talk about Fortune Telling.

In this form of jumping to conclusions, you “predict” what is going to happen in the future before it happens. “Oh, I know I’m not going to get on the squad.” “We’ll never make it to Nationals.”

Fortune telling can be an especially dangerous cognitive distortion because it can become a self fulfilling prophecy.  If you expect to do poorly, what do you think will happen?

Another way of explaining this is to say that fortune telling is a process of setting negative goals for yourself and living down to them!

Why set up negative goals for yourself?  Instead try saying, “I’m going to work hard in preparing for tryouts so I can feel confident and perform well.”  Or – “We’re going to do our best to make progress this year with the hope that we’ll be able to go to Nationals.”

See the difference?  Think this would make a difference in how you perform?  You betcha!

There are many things that can undermine cheerleading performance including the way you think!

In my last cheerleading blog post  (a long time ago…sorry for the delay!) I wrote about 3 forms of jumping to conclusions including Labeling, Fortune Telling and Mind Reading.  Today I will talk about Mind Reading.

In mind reading, your automatic thoughts assume the worst about what other people think about you and your work. It is often combined with other cognitive distortions. You may use a Mental Filter to screen out positive reactions and then read a whole set of negative reactions into what’s left.

Here’s an example:  Let’s say you are trying out for a cheerleading squad.  You arrive at the appointed time and place and you find yourself thinking, “The coach won’t want me on the team.  She won’t think I’m good enough.”

Whoah!  What happened here?  Coach has said nothing to you outside of “hello!”  For some reason, you have decided you can read the mind of coach.  Because this happens so automatically, you aren’t even aware this is going on; all you are aware of is an increase in your anxiety and discomfort. 

And how do you think his will affect your try-out performance? Of course it will undermine your performance which will then confirm your negative belief!

How do you turn this around?  As I’ve said many times – it’s important that you learn how you think…keep track of your thoughts so you can become aware of such cognitive distortions.

In this case, you can do this: Say to yourself, “How do I know what coach is thinking?  I really can’t read minds.  Maybe this is my anxiety talking.  Since I don’t really know what coach is thinking, I might as well assume it is something positive or at least neutral.  My job isn’t to read minds; it’s to perform as best as I can in this moment.”

A more extreme from of Magnifying and Minimizing is All-or-Nothing Thinking. 

Consider this cheerleading scenario.  Your cheerleading squad is at Nationals and you have come in 3^rd in your division.  You all know that your performance was excellent; you hit everything.  What’s your reaction? 

Do you smile with pleasure, knowing that your squad performed so well?  Are you angry that you didn’t place first? Are you complaining that the judging was unfair? 

Well, All-or-Nothing Thinking occurs when you wipe out everything positive and only look at the negative. This can have a snow ball effect such that EVERYTHING becomes negative.  So, in this case, the thinking would be look like this: “We lost.  We were terrible.  I should just get out of cheerleading.  I don’t think the coaching was good either. And the judges always pick that other squad. We’ll never come in first. This is the worst experience of my life.” 

See how easily misery can happen? Such cognitive distortions can discourage you from trying new things or deter you from taking good risks. 

Tip:  In a situation like this, the squad can benefit from a debriefing in which everyone is asked what  went well, what went very well, and what, if anything can be learned from the event.

We are what we think.  So, what are you thinking?  

For cheerleaders who want to perform well, the ability to quickly identify and change your thinking is key to success.  I’ve written about this topic in previous posts but this one provides a different slant on the topic. 

Cognitive distortions are so common (not just for cheerleaders) that psychologists have devoted books to the topic.  Because I believe this topic is so important, I plan to devote a series of blog postings about it. 

Much of the time we take our feelings for granted.  We don’t consider that we are responsible for how we feel, not others.  We too quickly blame circumstances or other people for how we feel and yet the truth is we can choose to feel one way or the other – if we want to! 

Remember, feelings follow thoughts so if you can work on changing your thoughts, you will be able to change your feelings.  You don’t react to an event itself (although it may seem like you do!), you are really reacting to your interpretation of the event. Your interpretation of an event precedes your emotional response to it.  Usually, your interpretation will be automatic and you will not be aware of it.  In other words, this is an unconscious process. 

Your job is to actively keep track of your thoughts so you can begin to catch the automatic thinking that leads to painful feelings. Remember, these are habits of thinking that seem to pop out of nowhere; they are not the result of reasoned thought.  

There are 4 categories of cognitive distortions: Overgeneralization, Mental Filters, Jumping to Conclusions, and Emotional Reasoning. 

Stay tuned as I look at each category and provide examples and tools of transformation.