Mental toughness is an essential attribute of successful athletes. Therefore, understanding and developing mental toughness should be the goal of all coaches and athletes. Too often, however, athletes lose this condition almost immediately after a few mistakes, which in themselves would not be so bad for the end result, but which become so because they begin to think that they will not be able to express themselves as they would have liked. Tenacity has been defined as the ability to achieve personal goals in the face of pressure from a wide range of stressors.
In relation to the development of attributes thought to be important for the development of the athlete’s mindset (conviction, focus), effective daily practice (pushing oneself to the limit), absolute level performance (managing competitive stress), and post-race coping (managing defeat), research has identified a number of key themes for developing and maintaining tenacity in elite athletes at different stages of their careers. These themes include the aspiration for mastery and competitiveness, the desire to achieve goals based on training and competition, and the commitment to use psychological skills and reflective practice to rationalize and manage competitive expectations, successes and failures.
Mental toughness can be developed through deliberate practice that focuses on physical, mental and emotional elements. Suggestions include:
- Being physically prepared and in excellent shape, but with a balance of rest and recovery.
- Display consistent body language in competition that conveys confidence and determination.
- Know your ideal state of emotional readiness and know how to achieve it.
- Incorporate mental skills such as positive self-talk into one’s training program.
- Embrace and harness the feelings and emotions of competition.
- Meet challenges with enthusiasm and conviction.
- After mistakes or setbacks, learn to recover quickly by staying in the present and focusing on what you can control.
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