Coming Back From a Loss or Choke
Why is resilience in sports important? Because everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has moments where they choke. Last week my son bought a ball. It was one of the bouncy balls that you see in a quarter machine at various stores. It had a mix of colors, and was a little smaller than a baseball. As soon as he got it, the first thing he did was throw it against the ground.
That led me to a funny thought: there’s no way you would know how bouncy, or strong that ball is, unless you let it fall. That is how it works.
In every aspect of life, including sports, we will fail from time to time. In fact, if you want to reach your goals and dreams, you are going to have to surpass the trials that life throws your way. It teaches us and builds resilience.
The problem comes when we give the wrong meaning to that loss or mistake. Even something simple like getting throw out at first base or missing a pass can easily stick with people. Then negative thoughts and beliefs can start to creep in and cause destructive belief patterns that last long-term.
That’s why I teach my clients invaluable techniques to quickly get over mistakes. Overcoming mistakes and losses is a must for people to be mentally tough. You might think it is advanced material to cover, but even my younger clients understand what I teach on this. One of the principles I share with them is the truth about failure.
There is no such thing as failure.
Trials are there to test you and make you fall, that way you know how to bounce back. The problem comes when we give the wrong meaning to that loss. We walk away from it and say “I failed”. The truth is, you’ve gained a learning experience. You now have the opportunity to grow and come back stronger.
Another truth, is that maybe the team didn’t play as well as usual, but you had some great plays and learned a lot about what you can do better. Isn’t that a much better story to tell yourself? When you can take out the concept of ‘losing’ from an athlete’s mind, and they then eliminate 99% of the fear of failing.
It’s perfectly normal to feel upset or disappointed after a mistake or a loss. You can let yourself experience that and go through that process. But, when you’re done with that, declare what your truth is and that you are going back out there as a better athlete
Just like a bouncy ball is meant to fall so it works at it’s best, you are meant to fall so you can become your best. If you struggle with letting mistakes and losses turn into stress and negative, lasting thoughts, don’t you think it is time to do something about it? By taking control over those moments, you can take a huge step to being a better performer and being mentally tough, regardless of the outcome. If you’d like to bring your best in all situations, contact our office today and let me help you become the high performer you deserve to be. Let’s rock this!
Gregg Pruett – The Mental Toughness Trainer
