Recovering Mentally After a Loss
Many athletes want to know the answers to the following questions:
*How can you prevent one bad routine from turning into another bad routine?
*How can you avoid following up one disastrous game by another disaster?
Or
*How do you not allow one bad competition to carry over to the next competition?
Many athletes talk about the difficulty of getting over bad performances. They sometimes expect bad performances to continue to the next.
Athletes who have a hard time getting over bad performances see themselves as having less abilities, believe they are not good enough, or feel they are not capable of bouncing back.
One bad performance does not need to impact your next performance. You are not bound by what happened in your last performance. You can wipe the slate clean and start anew.
Each new competition brings with it new opportunities.
Interesting concept, right? You are probably thinking, “I know I should let go of the past but I can’t!”
You can! With the right mindset, you can learn to move on from past performances and focus on the opportunities in front of you.
This is the strategy used by Rory McIlroy at the 2019 Tour Championship who came from behind to win the Tour Championship and, along with it, the FedEx Cup.
McIlroy views the start of each round of golf as a totally new competition.
McILROY: “I try to treat it like any other event, try to pretend like everyone was starting at even. And my goal this week was to just try to shoot the lowest score of the week, try to score the best score and if that wasn’t good enough then so be it.”
McIlroy’s mindset is that yesterday does not dictate how he will perform today. That mentality allows McIlroy to let go of past performances and past shots. It is as if McIlroy wipes the slate clean before every new opportunity.
You can apply the same strategy to bounce back after a bad performance. Wipe the slate clean.
Instead of dwelling on what has happened, focus on making things happen in the present.
By letting go of your past performances, you, in essence, hit the reset button and start new with the opportunity right in front of you.
Learning how to start new in the present is the common thread that runs through all mentally tough and successful athletes.
How to Bounce Back after a Bad Performance:
The “Next Strategy” is an effective method for moving on and focusing on what’s next. Purchase a notebook for evaluating your performances. Make two columns on a page.
Label column one as “performance evaluation.” Write a brief synopsis of how you performed, including the good, bad, your thoughts and your feelings about the competition.
Label column two as “NEXT.” Write what you want to improve in the next week of practice to perform well in competition. Focus on growth for the future.
This strategy requires commitment and consistency, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you will see a big difference in your ability to rebound from a bad performance.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Rebounding After a Bad Performance
- How to Recover From a Poor Performance
- How to React to a Poor Performance
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