Improve Your Mental Toughness for Sports Performance
Many athletes search for the answer for how to become “mentally tough” and many athlete don’t know how to cultivate it. Even worse, many athletes and coaches don’t know what mental toughness is and how it can help their performance.
Athletes hear professional athletes and Olympians espouse the virtues of mental toughness training and how mental toughness was the reason for their great athletic achievements.
Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots highlighted the importance of mental toughness, “Football is so much about mental toughness, it’s digging deep, it’s doing whatever you need to do to help a team win.”
A lack of mental toughness is the biggest enemy of athletes. Lacking mental toughness causes athletes to give up, give in, tank the match, and give less.
The level of your athletic success is in direct proportion to your level of mental toughness. To be mentally tough, you must be willing to do what most athletes don’t do.
First, let’s demystify mental toughness…
Many athletes believe you are born with mental toughness. The sentiment is you either have mental toughness or you don’t… And if you were not born with the mental toughness gene, you can’t succeed in your sport.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. You are 100% correct that you need mental toughness training to succeed but you are 100% wrong to believe you cannot become mentally stronger.
Some athletes do have a disposition to be more mentally tough than others, such as athletes who have handled adversity in their lives and are used to rebounding. I’m thinking about Greg Norman and Michael Jordan–just to mention a couple athletes who responded well to adversity.
And coping with adversity is a component of mental toughness. Mental toughness is an attitude and attitudes are constructed by you and no one else.
If you are the one responsible for your attitudes, you can deconstruct the way you think about yourself or your ability to succeed. By changing the way you think, you will change the way you feel about yourself which changes the way you act, train and compete.
Not only is mental toughness is an attitude and not something you were born with, it is a habit…
Mental toughness in athletics isn’t something you pull out of your back pocket when there are seconds left in a game… or when you need to sink a 3-foot putt to win a tournament… or even when you are up the plate with bases loaded in the ninth inning.
Mental toughness requires an ironclad approach to the challenges in your sport on a consistent basis. You need to consistently focus, train, and grow your mental toughness habit.
When mental toughness training becomes a habit, you can perform at the upper range of your athletic ability… And you are better equipped to handle obstacles, interference and difficult circumstances without losing confidence or motivation.
Mental toughness is like your fitness level, the more you train, the more fit you become. When you stop training your fitness level slips back. If you don’t consistently attend to your mental fitness, your mental toughness level begins to atrophy.
So, in essence, mental toughness is not an all-or-nothing proposition. There are varying degrees of mental toughness. This is great news because all athletes can benefit from mental toughness training.
As your mental toughness reserves increase, you will see a significant improvement in your performance.
“Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one.” – Bobby Knight
8 Qualities of Mental Toughness in Athletes:
Mentally tough athletes…
1. Find a way, not an excuse – Mentally tough athletes don’t make excuses when things don’t go their way. Instead of playing the blame game, they take responsibility for their performance, go back to the drawing board, right the ship and try again.
2. Adapt – Instead of doing things the way they always have, mentally tough athletes find new ways of challenging themselves, pushing themselves to outer limits of their potential. Mentally tough athletes understand what they did yesterday got them to where they are today… but more is required today to get them to where they want to be tomorrow.
3. Expend their energy on things that benefit performance – Mentally tough athletes focus on the things they can control. Mentally tough athletes don’t dwell on the past or feel sorry for themselves nor do they concern themselves with distractions outside of their direct control. Mentally tough athletes focus on what they can do in the present moment to overcome the challenges of performance and give them the best opportunity to succeed.
4. See the past as valuable informative lessons and nothing more – Mentally tough athletes learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others, then the let go of the past and move forward. Mentally tough athletes see the past as mental training for better performance in the future. Mistakes, errors and losses don’t define mentally tough athletes, these experiences strengthen their resolve.
5. Take risks – Mentally tough athletes understand that fear of failure prevents fully committing to and achieving excellence in their sport. Mentally tough athletes seek out opportunities to move out of their comfort zone. Mentally tough athletes meet challenges with enthusiasm instead of dread and anxiety. Mentally tough athletes refuse to be average and understand they may miss the mark on occasions but it is worth taking the chance in order to achieve great things.
6. Remain persistent despite of failure –Mentally tough athletes are never defeated by failure. Mentally tough athletes understand that failure is another step in the journey towards accomplishment. Mentally tough athletes have the mindset that failure is not final and never quit pursuing their objectives.
7. Pursue excellence, not perfection – Mentally tough athletes have a goal but their focus is on the steps they need to take to get to that goal. Mentally tough athletes understand that optimal performance is a marathon, not a sprint. Each step along the way moves them closer toward the ultimate goal. They are not embarrassed by mistakes, do not try to be perfect, push themselves to the max and seek daily improvement. Mentally tough athletes understand they will make mistakes along the way and these mistakes are both necessary and critical turning points in their journey towards excellence.
8. Concern themselves with their talents and abilities – Mentally tough athletes don’t try to please others nor do they resent the success of other athletes. They focus on themselves, their talents, improving themselves, implementing their game plan and achieving the goals they set for themselves.
9. In other words, talent can be over-rated. You can find thousands of talented athletes who never achieve greatness in their sport. As a matter of fact, 75% off all teen athletes drop out of sports–not because of a lack of talent–but because they lose the fun in sports and lack the mental toughness to compete at higher levels.
Talent without mental toughness training can be average when it comes to consistent performance… But average talent with mental toughness makes good athletes accomplish great things.
“Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.”
~Bill Russell
Building Champion-Level Mental Toughness
Create the habit of mental toughness – Find ways in training sessions to grow your mental toughness. Look to uncover weaknesses in your mental game instead of shy away from them. Then, one by one improve your weaker parts of your mental game toughness.
When you get tired, push on for five more minutes… Perform one more rep than you think you can… Respond to adversity with determination instead of frustration.
Commit to mental toughness daily. Consciously choose how you will respond to tough circumstance.
Mental toughness comes down to your habits and your habits are up to you. Remember that mental toughness is about winning the small battles each day.
You can’t expect to be mentally tough in championship moments, if you are not working on stretching your mental toughness muscle behind the scenes.
Battle and prove to yourself that you can tough out each challenge that you encounter on your way to reaching your goals.
Soccer great Mia Hamm said it best, “I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.”
How will you add mental toughness training to fuel your game? How will you make it a daily habit?
Visit Peak Performance Sports’ Sport Psychology Coaching programs to help you identify your mental strengths and weaknesses.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- How to Mentally Prepare for Adversity
- How to Build Mental Toughness
- How Preparation Boosts Confidence
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