Mental Toughness Tips For Athletes
Injury is a challenge that most athletes will face at some time during their career.
Injuries can range from mild to serious ones requiring surgery.
Injuries are not easy for anyone. For some athletes, the emotional impact of an injury can be devastating.
With injury, athlete have a fear of the unknown, “Will I return one hundred percent?” “Will I lose my starting role?” “What if I get cut from the team?”
How you respond to injury shapes your rehab, return to competition, and post-injury performance.
If you respond with frustration, fear and worry, you will delay recovery and potentially suffer re-injury.
It is normal to experience some negative emotions… the very thing that you love doing has been taken away for a period of time.
The key is to not wallow in those negative emotions and move forward…
BUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD?
The best antidote for injury is to respond with mental toughness.
By challenging yourself and vowing to come back even stronger, you can benefit from your brief hiatus from competition.
Willie Young is a defensive end for the Chicago Bears who is determined to make a comeback after a season-ending Achilles tendon rupture in 2014.
During the 2014 season, Young had a break-out year recording a career-high and team-high 10 sacks.
Now, Young is faced with, not only the challenge of coming back from injury, but a position switch to outside linebacker.
Young’s attitude has him focused on this year and moving forward. Young shows no fear of re-injury. When asked about the injury this pre-season, Young’s comment was “Last season’s mishap.”
Young responded to his injury with a tough-mindedness that is characteristic of all great athletes.
Young’s mental toughness allows him to view his challenging situation with a positive perspective.
YOUNG: “I’m not worried about [making the team]. I came in as a seventh-round draft pick, and I started from the bottom. So ain’t nowhere for me to go but up. At this point I’m not concerning myself with what might happen or what could happen. I have too much ahead of me.”
The Bears will start preseason with 90 players in training camp but will trim their roster to 53 by the start of the season.
In a what-have you-done-for me-lately league, nothing is guaranteed. Despite the mental hurdles, Young remains positive, prepared and mentally strong for any circumstance.
YOUNG: “I’m ready for whatever. Sometimes I go fishing and the forecast says it ain’t going to rain. But guess what, it might rain. So I have a 100 mph Bass Pro Shop dry suit right in the drop storage hatch. And I can easily walk to the front of my boat, pull it out and put it on and you’re ready for the occasion.”
Tips for keeping a mentally tough mindset when injured:
Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, write down all the mental hurdles you have overcome in the past to arrive at your current level of performance. Create 1-2 positive goals of what you can do while injured to bounce back and achieve greater success.
You may not be able to control injuries, but you can control how you respond to injuries.
Improve Your Trust For Competition Today!
“The Fearless Athlete” is program number four in The Confident Athlete Workbook series. This CD & Workbook program is a ground-breaking program. which will help you overcome the mental handcuffs of perfectionism and fear of failure, leading you to perform with unshakeable trust. Dr. Cohn delivers his new program in a step-by-step practical workbook you use for just 15 minutes a day! Dr. Cohn gives you ALL HIS TRUST-BOOSTING STRATEGIES in this 14-day step-by-step easy-to-apply mental training program!
Boost Your Self-Confidence With Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach, Dr. Patrick Cohn, can help you or your athlete(s), ages 12 and up, overcome mental game issues with personal coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone. Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our students saying?
“WOW!!! What a week I had. I was able to perform with a confidence that allowed my style to shine through–no more entering the arena with that “deer in the headlights” look or feeling. I stopped evaluating myself while I was performing, and I actually left the arena after my patterns feeling like I had experienced a lot of fun. Thank you so much.”
~Julia Dreyer, National Champion Equestrian
For All Athletes – Learn Confidence-Boosting Techniques!
D you have a negative self-image of yourself as an athlete that stifles confidence?
No matter ow positive you try to be, are you unable to shake the doubt that rushes into your head when you size up your competition?
Have you labeled yourself as a loser, poor closer, or mediocre athlete and these labels keep you stuck in a rut of self-pity and indecision?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, check out The Confident Athlete!
The Confident Athlete CD and workbook program is a 14-day plan for ultimate self-confidence. This program is ideal for any athlete or coach that wants to discover proven confidence-boosting techniques guaranteed to drastically build self-confidence and improve sports performance.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Athlete Series…
The Confident Athlete: A 14-Day Plan For Ultimate Self-Confidence
Check out all of the products in The Confident Athlete Series!
What are customers saying?
“I first purchased The Confident Athlete to see how the program went and immediately saw results. I then purchased the rest of the confident athlete series and have noticed a dramatic improvement in my level of play or should I say consistency. I currently play NCAA Division 1 baseball for Lamar University, and even my coaches have noticed a change in the way that I approach the game. My attitude and confidence at the plate.”
~Tylor Prudhomme (Listen to his success story)
“I am a ASP world qualifying professional surfer and after beginning the ‘The Confident Athlete’ I had an almost instant change in attitude about my own surfing ability and my mindset going into competition. By using the Confident Athlete strategies, my confidence has done a complete 180 degrees. I won a local pro/am a few weeks back, and just had my best result of the year in one the last big events on the world circuit this last week in Brazil! It is my secret weapon!”
~Shaun Burrell, Professional Surfer (Listen to his success story)
For Young Athletes and Parents – Learn More About How to Help Kids Improve Confidence Quickly!
We’ve got a great program for you called “The Confident Sports Kid: A 7-Day Plan for Building Ultimate Self-Confidence.”
The Confident Sports Kid is a 7-day program for sports parents and kids to boost young athlete’s performance, happiness and success… in sports and life!
The Confident Sports Kid is two programs in one. There’s a manual and CD for parents/coaches, and a workbook/CD for young athletes.
Packed with mental strategies that you and your kids can start using immediately, this program teaches your athletes how to identify confidence busters, proactively deal with them, manage expectations that undermine confidence, and mentally prepare to stay confident when faced with adversity.
What’s more, our program teaches you, as sports parents and coaches, how you may be hurting your kids’ confidence and gives you instructions for changing your behavior in ways that will improve your athletes’ performance, confidence and enjoyment.
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Sports Kid Series…
The Confident Sports Kid: A 7-Day Plan for Building Ultimate Self-Confidence
Check out all of our products in The Confident Sports Kid Series!
What are parents and coaches saying about our program?
“I appreciate the advice to parents as to how to help your child become more mentally resilient to bullying in sports. The specific advice and scenarios are extremely helpful for any child on a team and very helpful in guiding parents, coaches and administrators in how to deal with bullying in sports. I cannot thank you enough for your input, and I am so reassured to know that there are people like you who are writing articles and doing interviews on such timely and important matters.”
~Julie Goot
“Dr. Patrick Cohn and Lisa Cohn are to be congratulated! Together, they offer a wealth of knowledge, information, and practical mental tools for sports parents on the substantial “mental game” challenges and pressures facing today’s young athletes.”
~Marc D. Anderson, LCSW, MGCP, Mental Game Coach
For Mental Coaches – Add More Value To Your Mental Training Programs!
This workbook series was designed for coaches and mental coaches to use with their athletes.
The Athlete’s Mental Edge workbooks complement your existing mental training program. Each of the 15 workbooks in the Athlete’s Mental Edge System teaches your athletes a specific mental skill to improve their performance.
For mental coaches, this system is ideal for between session education.
For sports coaches, you’ll be able to conduct 15 team seminars using the workbook system.
In the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbook system, you receive 15 easy-to-read, practical Mental Edge Workbooks on PDF, as well as 16 coaches’ game plan MP3 audio files.
Athlete’s Mental Edge Workbook System
What are coaches saying?
“I am really pleased with the Athlete’s Mental Edge workbooks – they are fitting in really well with my coaching! I find they offer a great framework for doing workshop sessions. I have also used the workbooks with a few individual athletes – for the younger ones (12 and under). They are giving a good structure and framework to our sessions. The workbooks have worked well with all of them!”
~Kerri Morgan, Mental Game Coach
“I am impressed with the willingness and openness of Dr. Cohn to share all of his assets (intellectual, products, etc.) with the MGCP students. You have developed an incredible model/package for mental training. Even though we are paying for your service, you are passing on a legacy built on your contribution to the world of sports. Thank you for that.”
~Tony Melito, MGCP