I Can't Sleep. Can You?

It's four in the morning where I am. My wife and I just had our second baby. A girl named Makena (Because we were married on Makena Beach in Maui, Hawaii) And I can't get to sleep. My mind is just going. What about? Stuff. All sorts of stuff. It reminded me of a couple of goalie specific things that I'd thought I'd write about seeing that I can't get to sleep anyway.

Why You Must Fall Asleep At Night

Goalies tend to be worriers. They worry about letting in a goal. They worry about what their coaches/parents/teammates will think about them. They worry about making a bad pass that leads to a goal. They worry about getting hit in the balls (seriously). They worry about getting shelled. They worry about losing so bad that they will never want to play the game again. Ever.

All in all most goalies worry.

Now let me have you exchange the word "worry" and replace it with the phrase "plan to prevent"

Goalies tend to plan to prevent about everything. They plan to prevent letting in a goal. They plan to prevent a situation where their coaches/parents/teammates will think badly about them. They plan to prevent making a bad pass that leads to a goal. They plan to prevent getting hit in the balls. (Seriously!) They plan to prevent getting shelled. They plan to prevent so they never lose a game so bad that they will never want to play the game again.

When you read those to paragraphs do you see how some of the stress is taken out of the second one?

When you rephrase your worry it becomes much more productive. "Worry" is not a productive feeling. Worry is just a negative thought pattern where you tend to focus on bad situations. And what you focus on you bring on.

If I ask you to worry about a pink polar bear, what do you see? A pink polar bear.

Maybe that pink polar bear is doing something bad in your thoughts. Maybe the pink polar bear is showing it's teeth. Or running at you.

Now let me ask you to think about planning to prevent that white polar bear from doing anything bad.

First off, you are now seeing a white polar bear instead of a pink one. This shows you that you can instantly change any mental situation. From bad to good. From pink to white.

You may also have thought of that white polar bear in a cage. Or somehow in a way that prevents him from doing anything bad to you.

By planning to prevent instead of worrying you have changed a negative mental image to a positive mental image. Instead of worrying about letting in a bad goal why not plan to prevent one. By thinking in a positive way you are actually coming up with a positive game plan. You may now visualize yourself making a great play. Or maybe making a great call that gets your defense to slide to neutralize the ball carrier.

When you worry you tend to lose sleep at night. (just like I am as I write this.) But by focusing on "planning to prevent" you can fill your brain with positive images that will actually build your confidence and make you a player.

Just a quick thought. I think I'll catch some sleep now.

Jonathan -
www.LacrosseGoaltending.blogspot.com