Mental Readiness: 5 Tips For An Outstanding Audition Performance
Aspiring pro cheerleaders don’t need physical preparation alone for the auditions such as developing an athletic body. They need to be mentally ready as well because the mind influences action. The more prepared your mind is, the higher your chances are of making your dream pro cheer team. Here’s what mental readiness means for pro cheerleading auditions and how to achieve it.
What Is Mental Readiness? Why Does It Matter?
Mental readiness is our ability to set our minds in a balanced state so that we can perform at an optimal level. For an aspiring pro cheerleader like you, mental readiness is very important to have so that you can show your best dance ability and confidence at the auditions.
5 Ways to Mentally Prepare Yourself
1. Wean yourself away from technology
Cellphones, TVs, and computers are useful only for work and studies. But using them when not necessarily needed can make you stay up late at night. Not to mention that these devices can inspire negative thinking because of social media and the news.
Give your body and mind proper rest. You must develop a bedtime routine and strictly stick to it. For example, sleep early and get 7-9 hours of sleep at night. To do that, put your phone away, shut your computer down, and turn the TV off two hours before going to bed.
2. Create positive mental imagery
Confidence is one way to prepare your mind for big events. Avoid thinking about the worst possible outcomes for the auditions such as rejection or falling out of balance while dancing. These won’t help you.
Instead, imagine the positive comments the judges at the audition or on the computer screen would say once you’ve performed well in your dance. Imagine how you would also feel when you’re told that you have advanced to the second round of the auditions. These positive mental images will make you feel excited, confident, and prepared.
3. Focus on your role as a pro cheerleader
Transition from life as a mother, student, or employee into a pro cheerleader’s and enter the role of an athletic artist. Focus on what you need to do as an aspiring pro cheerleader at the auditions like projecting confidence and dancing with high levels of energy. Set aside your problems that aren’t related to the big day for a while.
4. Develop refocusing strategies
As you near the audition day, distractions and discouragements can happen unexpectedly and they can throw your mind off balance. What’s important is, you must have a remedy for them so that you can recover and get back to your prepared state.
One good strategy is to make a vision board and hang it on your room’s wall. So that when you’re troubled, you’ll look at it and refocus on your goal of being a pro cheerleader. Another strategy for refocusing is to develop a mantra. Choose a sentence or a word that reflects your pro cheer ambition and repeat them when you need to hype up.
5. Celebrate victories no matter how small
Negative thinking manifests when we fail to acknowledge our small wins. So take notice of them and celebrate whenever you can. Slept early last night? Congratulate yourself with a bowl of green salad. Mastered makeup application? Celebrate with a selfie.
It is important that your small celebrations should also be healthy so that they won’t impede your pro cheer audition preparation.
Mental readiness starts with a positive outlook on life. As much as you can, always think of the best scenarios that can happen during the auditions. Celebrate your small audition prep wins. Have a cure for distractions and discouragements. Take care of your mind by letting it rest at night. The healthier your mind is, the easier it is to be mentally prepared and the longer this state lasts.
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