Video transcript:
Not enough athletes do this. They don’t plan for when things go sideways in competition. Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” I’m saying that we need to plan for after we get punched in the mouth. For anything external that could go wrong like if the other team does something to upset you or if there’s a bad call, bad weather or if you make a costly mistake.
We also have to prepare for unwanted internal things like if our body feels like crap or if our mind starts flooding us with unhelpful thoughts. How are we going to respond to our own mind being in the way? Most athletes don’t like to do this because they don’t want to think about the bad stuff that could happen. They have people telling them, “No no, you can’t think about that. That’s not going to happen. You just got to think positively.” Thinking positively is great but sometimes it’s wishful thinking because far more often than not the uncontrollable nature of sport and our self-sabotaging mind are going to kick that door down and ruin that part. Hoping that things go perfectly is not a strategy and it will leave you feeling frustrated and confused when they don’t.
When we make a plan for when things don’t go perfectly, that’s when we can respond in confidence rather than hit the panic button.Then we can really say that we’re ready to go. So before your next competition ask yourself: What are all the possible things that might knock me off my game? What might distract me? How will I respond to those things? Will I have a routine that helps me refocus and respond in confidence? Maybe it’s breathwork. Maybe it’s a self-talk statement or cue that helps redirect your focus. Maybe it’s a focal point that reminds you to lock back in. Whatever it is it has to be something that directly addresses the issues that you’re dealing with and helps you return your focus to the game. When you do this, you’re not thinking negatively, you’re preparing to meet challenges and perform at a high level.