Sarah Moore
Fear, whether it is real or it is made up in our heads can be a roadblock in our lives. Everything we want to accomplish is on the other side of that roadblock. So how do we get through it?
What do coaches, athletes, and executives all do that makes them successful?
Mental toughness has two main components:
How can you perform under pressure?
How can you deal / cope, with adversity, setbacks, and roadblocks?
NO FEAR is an acronym. Each letter stands for something that will help you get mentally tough.
N: Never give up. (Foundation of mental toughness)
Athletes quit. We quit when we start going through the motions. How do you act when you are in situations where you can’t win?
“Golfers quit when they are in 40th place, they start going through the motions because they can’t be first and that makes quitting in the future easier.”
O: Turn Obstacle into an opportunity.
How bad do you want it? We need to take our mess and turn it into our message. We have roadblocks in life, adversity, people to tell us we are no good. It is how we respond to all the obstacles in life.
For one successful person you hear about there are 1,000’s who have given up.
F: Focus.
Focus on the now. In practice in sports or whatever task you are trying to accomplish you have to set goals for yourself.
Confidence is King, Focus is Queen.
Focus on you and no one else, when we start putting our mind on others then we get distracted. Set goals everyday and achieve them.
E: rE-focus.
We will always come up short. There have been olympic athletes who race or compete who have come up short. You have to let past failures be in the past. Dan Jansen in his last Olympic race wins the gold medal. In the locker room talking to his coach he had to let go of all of his past losses. He came back, re-focussed and won.
When we face a situation that may be nerve-racking. But it is how we approach every situation. If we are nervous about a game or situation our nerves can get to us. But if we see something as an opportunity we can perform better if we have the right attitude.
R: Respond don’t react.
When we react to issues we do it with emotion. We react with our emotions. If we respond we step back from the situation, take a deep breath and really think before making a decision. Respond don’t react.