Mental toughness! We hear those words and ask ourselves “How do we become mentally tough?” A coach or parent can’t just TELL you to do it. You have to learn it and practice it just like your sport.
Being mentally strong is a crucial aspect of athletic performance, encompassing resilience, focus, confidence, and the ability to cope with in high pressure situations. Below I’ve listed some mental tools that help. The ones highlighted with a red mark are the ones I use with my clients specifically. The others are other powerful actionable suggestions . Mental Toughness requires both conscious work and subconscious retraining. Here are some examples of conscious training first:
💡Conscious Mental Tools ⚒️
1. Goal Setting:
- Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.
- Break down long-term goals into short-term objectives to maintain motivation and focus.
♦️2. Visualization:
- Use imagery techniques to visualize successful performances, training sessions, and overcoming challenges.
- Create mental scenarios where you practice handling pressure and executing skills flawlessly. Do this at practice first so it will be natural in a game if/when it happens
♦️3. Positive Self-Talk:
- Develop a repertoire of positive affirmations and motivational phrases.
- Replace negative thoughts with constructive beliefs to foster a growth mindset.
♦️4. Mindfulness, Prayer and Meditation:
- Practice mindfulness techniques to stay present and reduce anxiety. Helps with overthinking and judgement too.
- Utilize prayer and meditation to enhance clarity of thought, ask for guidance from God & helping to manage stress.
5. Pre-Performance Routines:
- Establish a consistent routine before competitions to create a sense of familiarity and control.
- Incorporate breathing exercises or rituals that help center your mind.
♦️6. Deep Breathing Techniques/Tension Releasing:
- Learn and apply relaxation techniques such as head to toe muscle relaxation or deep breathing techniques. Two of my favorites are Combat Breathing and Physiological Sigh Breathing.
7. Focus and Concentration Training:
- Use concentration drills to enhance your ability to maintain focus during practice and competition.
- Create cues or anchors that help redirect attention back to the task at hand.
♦️8. Journaling:
- Keep a performance journal to reflect on training sessions, competitions, and your mental state.
- Identify patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, and adjust accordingly.
Now let’s go a little deeper:
🧠Subconscious Mental Tools 🛠️
1. Conditioning and Repetition:
- Repeatedly practicing skills and techniques can create muscle memory and automatic responses under pressure.
- Engage in deliberate practice to reinforce positive habits and build confidence.
♦️2. Emotional Regulation:
- Develop an awareness of your emotional responses and learn to manage them subconsciously.
- Use techniques like anchoring, where you associate a physical gesture with a positive emotional state.
♦️3. Inner Mind Work Recordings (My Specialty and so very powerful!)
- Use these recordings to fall asleep to. These eliminate the negative loop in your mind while enhancing positive beliefs, confidence and mental framework while using a sound frequency to calm the mind and deepen your sleep. Some athletes see a difference as little at 2 days after listening.
4. Exposure to Pressure:
- Gradually expose yourself to high-pressure situations in practice to desensitize your response.
- Simulate competition scenarios to train your mind and body to perform under stress.
5. Team Dynamics and Support:
- Surround yourself with supportive teammates and coaches who foster a positive environment.
- Engage in discussions that reinforce mental toughness and collective resilience.
6. Intuition and Gut Feelings:
- Trust your instincts and develop a sense of intuition about performance and decision-making.
- Reflect on past experiences to strengthen your ability to respond effectively to challenges.
By integrating these some or all of mental tools into training and competition routines, athletes will enhance their mental toughness and improve their overall performance. Consistency and self-awareness are key to making these practices effective and ingraining them into the subconscious mind.
Contact me today to talk about a plan that will get you mentally tough for your upcoming tryouts, season &tournaments.
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