Are You an Athlete Who Focuses on Problems or Finding Solutions?
Competitive sports have their fair share of ups and downs, and every player experiences highs and lows during their career.
When players are at a low point, they sometimes feel like they are the only ones who experience tough times. It can be a very lowly and lonely place.
For example, if you were a three-year starter, and for seemingly no reason, your coach takes you out of the starting lineup for several games, many questions, doubts, and negative thoughts may occupy your mind.
- Why am I being benched?
- Will I ever start again?
- What if my coach no longer believes in me?
- Maybe I’m not good enough to play at this level.
These thoughts are relatively normal for any player in these circumstances. However, these thoughts focus on the problem.
If you are not careful and fall prey to your doubts, you will feel trapped and helpless. What happens after these thoughts will impact your immediate future.
If you focus on the problem, you will lose confidence and motivation. You will not feel in control of your future and hesitate to take action to move forward.
Conversely, if you focus on finding solutions, you will feel empowered. You will feel motivated to grow your game mentally, physically, and technically.
When you are solution-oriented, you will develop the mental toughness needed to conquer challenges.
Finding and implementing solutions requires a series of mental skills:
- Goal Setting – What do you need to overcome your current challenge?
- Focus – How will you overcome your current circumstances?
- Confidence – How can I leverage my current skillset to improve my situation?
- Perspective and Patience – Is my situation permanent, or will it take some amount of time to move forward?
- Motivation – What will I do today to get the ball rolling in the right direction?
Mental skills not only help overcome obstacles, but those skills can raise your game higher.
After being waived by Gotham FC, winger Jenna Bike waited eight weeks for another opportunity. Bike acknowledged she struggled with her situation.
During those weeks, Bike continued to train and develop her skills, knowing she still wanted to play in the National Women’s Soccer League.
BIKE: “I really wanted to stay in this league and stay stateside, so it was a lot of training, [especially] not knowing where my future was going to be or what was going to happen. It was honestly a little difficult at times.”
After her 8-week layoff, Chicago Red Stars signed Bike to a two-year contract with an option for a third year. In a short time, Bike has improved substantially. Not only is Bike excited to play again, but she wants to be a difference-maker and knows that starts with a strong mental game.
BIKE: “The technical piece is something you can always control and something I always try and work on, but where I had to pay more attention is the mental piece, playing with confidence, and being the player I know I can be every day, no matter who I am standing next to or who is on the field with me.”
“Believing in myself has been so hard since I joined the league, but slowly, I’m starting to break the shell and get back to the basics. I know how to play soccer and have all the pieces; it’s just the mental side.”
Mental skills help bring into focus solutions that empower players to meet obstacles head-on. The truth is that well-developed mental skills can take you from average to awesome.
Don’t wait until problems arise before paying attention to your mental game. Taking a proactive approach to building mental skills can lessen or prevent obstacles from occurring in the first place.
Related Sports Psychology Article
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