To be a successful athlete, there is no more important mental skill to have than mental discipline to overcome a setback and stay focused on the process of competing. Here are some actions for athletes to complete that will help them with their resiliency.
- Start seeing resilience as something they can develop and improve.
- Work on developing coping strategies (ie, actions after an error, loss, or when you get taken out of a game).
- Build a list of “resilient” qualities.
- Only think about and work on things within your control.
- Your athletic skills
- Your mental skills
- Your daily schedule- (fuel, sleep, etc)
- Challenge yourself- enough to see if you will fail.
- Get outside of your comfort zone.
- Difficult things.
- Things that you have never done.
- Get outside of your comfort zone.
- Anticipate what is next.
- Next play, next game, next week
- Build positive relationships.
- Teammates and coaches.
- A support group off the field, outside of your sport.
- Have a routine that allows you to learn from mistakes.
- Reflect on what has helped you overcome setbacks in the past
- No judgments.
- Growth mindset.
Praising athletes on talent encourages a fixed mindset, while praising people on effort encourages a growth mindset.
