The psychological rule the Rams used to win the Super Bowl can make you a better runner

After the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Rams’ Andrew Whitworth (the oldest active player in the NFL) shared some interesting insight into the team’s culture and how a positive environment allowed them to succeed at the highest level in their sport. The principles of positive psychology can be applied to any sport, and runners can use them in their own training to see huge improvements while still having fun.

? Walter Payton Man of the Year.
? World Champion.
? Andrew Whitworth. pic.twitter.com/L22yJ1EWbd

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 14, 2022

Positive psychology in sports

“Our style is totally different than other teams in the league. It’s about cultivating positivity and energy and belief in yourself, and that’s the attitude of our team and our culture,” said Whitworth. “We’re relaxed. We have fun. It’s energetic. We don’t have coaches out there screaming at people. That’s not allowed on our field. It’s about having energy and positivity and belief that no matter what happens on one snap, the next snap’s the next best on you can have.”

Of course, running is a much more solitary pursuit than football, but runners can apply the same principles to the way they speak to themselves during training and races to help themselves succeed. Consider using the following “rules of positive psychology” as you prepare for your next goal race.

Recognition

The rule of recognition states that you will always focus on what you did right in a workout or race, and congratulate yourself for doing those things. Even if the final result isn’t exactly what you were hoping for, always look for the things you did well and commend yourself for them. Maybe you didn’t hit your PB, but did you pace yourself well throughout the race? Run strong and steady on the hills? Take a risk and try to push the pace?

Finding something to be proud of in every situation will stop you from beating yourself up after a less-than-stellar result, which will help you enjoy your training. Happy runners are fast runners, so use this rule to stay positive and eventually see results.

Change critical to constructive

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should never think about the things you need to improve, but when giving yourself this kind of feedback, you should always make sure it’s constructive, rather than critical. For example, instead of saying to yourself “I slowed down in the last half of the race because I’m not fit enough,” try “I took a risk and pushed the pace faster than I could maintain. I’m going to focus on building my endurance so I can maintain that pace next time.”

When you don’t get the result you hoped for, look at what went wrong as an opportunity to improve and focus on what you’re going to do differently to do better next time.

Reappraisal

Sometimes, training for a goal race can feel overwhelming, especially when a run or workout doesn’t go very well. When you feel overwhelmed, don’t focus on how much further you have to go or how much more you have to work before your goal race. Instead, take a look back at what you’ve already accomplished and use that to motivate you.

Is training for your first 10K getting overwhelming? Think about how you felt when you first started running, and you didn’t think you’d ever be able to run 5K without stopping. Going for a new marathon PB? Use your past best performances to motivate you to continue training.