This month features an introduction to our training by a college athlete who will introduce the concept of ‘Thought Stopping & Parking’, a cognitive technique which helps stop negative and self-defeating thoughts in their tracks. Thought Stopping uses mental and behavioral cues to prevent the recurring or to cease negative thoughts in their tracks. Some use a verbal cue like the word ‘Stop’ which for most, can bring about a conditioned response that many of us have known the meaning of since we were children. In other cases, it might be the association with an image or a tangible object that takes that thought process from being negative to something that promotes a more positive, engaging and healthy response. In this case, this athlete uses words he has tattooed on his wrist to take away those negative thoughts and instead, provide him with inspiration and motivation.
In this video, Kyle Swanner, a Scholar-Athlete from Quincy University, will introduce this concept and tell you about how this technique has helped him.