Recognising Mental Blocks and the Impact They Can Have in Sport and Life

When we start to reconnect with our authentic selves and who we are on a deeper level, we can start to recognise mental blocks and the impact they can have on the present (for example our sport and life). Subsequently, in this post I am going to share more about mental blocks. 

What Are Mental Blocks?

A mental block is a thought construct that is held within your subconscious mind that is not in alignment with your authentic Self. A mental block is generally from the past that could be effecting the present and how you are experiencing life. Mental blocks range from memories, beliefs, decisions / choices, past experiences.

Mental blocks come from many places, including – family members, teachers, coaches, media, society and culture. They are generally formed by repeated thoughts and are mostly created in childhood from interactions with the people around us (N.B. this is not about blaming anyone, particularly our parents). For example –

• beliefs – which are essentially thoughts that are continually thought over and over without questioning whether it is true or not NOW. Some beliefs can help us move forward, however some are mindset blocks.
• decision / choices – decisions and / or choices that may or may not have been made unconsciously in the past. For example – a young person who didn’t know how to cope with stress may have felt that eating chocolate was a useful coping strategy at the time. However, over time this may no longer serve them and the associated thoughts may end up being a mindset block.

“Nothing binds you except your thoughts; nothing limits you except your fear; and nothing controls you except your beliefs.” ~ Marianne Williamson

Some Examples of Mental Blocks or Limitations

Following are some examples of mental blocks that relate to the different areas and / or aspects of sport and life –

Is Anything Holding You Back or Limiting Your Flow of Sport and / or Life?

After seeing the above graphic, could you identify anything in your sport and / or life that is holding you back or limiting your flow in some way. The limitation could be about you, other people, experiences and / or the world. These limitations may –

• hold you back from making different choices in your sport and / or life,
• keep you from seeing the different opportunities presented to you each day,
• prevent you from seeing you own gifts or accepting the gifts offered to you, or
• keep you stuck focusing on the negative aspect of your circumstances.

One of the challenges with limitations is most of us don’t think we have them and they can be hard to spot.

Starting to Untangle from Mental Blocks

Once we start to recognise the mental blocks within us, the great news is we can start to untangle from them. Yes, that takes work, however as one of the people whom I have learnt a lot from says –

“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” ~ Ramana Maharshi 

Over to You…

I hope this article has given you some insight in to mental blocks and some ways they may be impacting your flow of sport and life. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to share them below. Also – please make sure you find a qualified professional who can help you untangle from any mental blocks.

When you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and living whole-heartedly (i.e. across sport and life), you are also welcome to join our newsletter here.