Don’t Question Your Mental Toughness
There is “no question” about it.
Did this cliche’ emerge in sports? I’m not sure, it’s just where I hear it most often.
What I’ll hear from competitors is an indication of their mental toughness.
I listen for how often they question themselves.
- “how did I do that?”
- “what are you doing?”
- “why am I out here today?”
- “What are YOU DOING!?”
All Questions!
Mental toughness doesn’t ask questions.
Do you question your Mental Toughness?
Because I don’t hear an athlete that is playing well, ask themselves questions such as, “how are you playing so well?” “How are you so awesome?!”
Questions during competition emerge after mistakes and they make sense, but they are rhetorical, and they aren’t answered.
All they do is lead to more questions or merely go unanswered.
If you want to become more mentally strong then do this instead!
Don’t question your mental toughness!
Questions don’t lead to many positive adjustments, just more questions. Things will go bad, and we aren’t going to always play our best, so we will need to make adjustments.
So, we need to give ourselves instructions about what to do NEXT.
We are either listening to ourselves or telling ourselves.
- “Okay, next play,”
- “wow, that wasn’t the best,”
- “stay aggressive,”
- “find a way.”
These statements can even be motivational, but I’ve found that the best make slight instructional adjustments.
You don’t need to question your mental toughness! Or question your ability or skills. You just need to develop a habit of telling yourself what to do next!
Confidence is king, but Focus is queen!
Dr. Rob Bell is a Sport Psychology Coach. DRB & associates coach executives and professional athletes. Some clients have included three different winners on the PGA Tour, Indy Eleven, University of Notre Dame, Marriott, and Walgreens.
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