Developing an Athlete Mindset
What makes successful athletes different from us regular folks? A lot of things; genetics, opportunity, access to training and coaching, desire, and mindset. We may not all be 6'7" and live close to an Olympic training program, but we can all use the athlete mindset to develop resilience and reach our goals.
What is the athlete mindset?
The athlete mindset is a skill that combines an internal locus-of-control with the ability to focus entirely on the task at hand to the exclusion of all else. It's tough at first. Life doesn't usually teach us this skill on its own. But we by understanding the athlete mindset we can use it to help us reach our own goals. The steps are to focus on the moment, break the task down into parts, control what you can control and let go of the rest, and develop an internal locus-of-control.
Focus on the moment
Nearly everyone has imagined themselves winning an Olympic Gold Medal at some point in their lives. When we do, we typically imagine the announcer saying, "this is their moment. It all rides on the next 10 seconds" just before we execute the perfect move to win. In reality, Olympic athletes train to be able to ignore those thoughts and focus on the moment. An athlete's thought immediately before winning a medal isn't, "everything is riding on this." The winners are only thinking about their next move. They are 100% focused on this exact moment.
What does it mean to focus on the moment? First, the athlete recognizes that the medal is not actually in this moment. Nor is the training that lead up to this moment. This moment is simply the athlete on a starting block, waiting for the signal to unleash. They aren't thinking about the glory that awaits them in a minute or two. They are thinking about how their body will move in this exact moment.
How do athletes know what to focus on? They break the situation down into parts.
Break it down into parts
Typically when we think of, "this moment," we are actually thinking about several moments that have lead up to this moment, and lie ahead of this moment. Rarely do we even consider what is happening at this exact second. Many of us have referred to the global and national struggles that have occurred in 2020 as "this moment." But 2020 is an entire year. This moment is only what is going on right this second.
Going back to our example of the Olympic athlete ready to start the race. There are several elements to what is going on in that exact moment. Once the race starts, the athlete is measuring their cadence. At the Olympic level, they all know the exact cadence they need to win. The athlete is also taking in any variations in their competitors. Ten seconds into the race, the athlete isn't thinking about winning. They are thinking about all the parts of that exact moment. The wind resistance. How well they are keeping their pace. What the other competitors are doing. When they should prepare to go faster. The successful athlete is focusing on the individual parts of that exact moment (ideally in a Flow State, so they don't have to consciously focus on each part).
How does an athlete mindset apply to day-to-day life?
Imagine that you are doing something that you do every day. Let's say you're heating something up in the microwave. It's a simple task that you probably do without much thought, but there are actually several parts to it:
Choosing which food to heat up
Getting the food
Reading the instructions
Placing it on a plate or napkin
Closing the door
Setting the time
Hitting the start button
Waiting (im)patiently
Taking the food out of the microwave
Hastily attempting to cool it down
Eating it
Each of us are faced with hundreds of moments like this throughout the day. We may think of "this moment" as an entire report, an entire run, or an entire blog post. But really, "this moment" is just the part of the report you're on now, the step you are taking right now, the word you are writing right now. When we take our focus off the intimidating larger picture, we can focus on the simple task that we are executing in this moment. In this moment, you are reading this word. Nothing else. Nothing else matters right now.
Control what you can control and let the rest go
The most successful athletes are able to use this mindset to manage anxiety and continue their development. Once successful athletes have mastered the art of focusing on the moment and breaking each task down into it's constituent parts, they learn to only control what they can control. Athletes can't control referees. They can't control how much training their opponent has. They can't control the air temperature, outside noises, wind resistance, the course, their opponent's speed, the timer. They can control themselves; their responses, their moves, their ability to use wind resistance, their own training, tuning out noises, making a plan on how to use the time remaining. This internal locus-of-control allows successful athletes to avoid painful and anxiety-inducing thinking traps and focus on their next move and let the rest of it go.
This internal locus-of-control applies to day-to-day life as well. We can't control the weather, our boss, who gets the promotion, how fast another runner is, aging, our life circumstances, how other people feel about us. We can control ourselves. When we focus on ourselves and what we can control in this present moment and let go of everything else, we can use the athlete mindset to reach our own goals, no matter how big or small.
Performance Counseling can help you develop an athlete mindset
You don’t have to be suffering to benefit from working with a trained, compassionate therapist. Whether you’re already an overachiever or you just want a little bit of help with anxiety, I can help. Click the button below and send me a question via email, or reach out to schedule your free 15-minute consultation. Start today.