Mental toughness or strength is one of the main characteristics, of why athletes are able to achieve great things. Sometimes even behind the horizons of the possible when accomplishing records, that have been believed to be impossible. Exactly this characteristic makes the difference between the best and the exceptionally good (Brewer, 2009). Weinberg and Gould (2003) claim that mental readiness makes 50% of the success next to physical, tactical, and technical training.
So let's have a closer look at this concept. Mental toughness or strength implies effort, and difficulty, something that costs a lot of energy. And society understands it this way, athletes are expected to withstand any difficulties, long and exhausting trainings, injuries, stress of competitions. They should be able to bite themselves through. But when aspiring for peak performance, the least mental energy should be used on unimportant matters. All the energy possible should be centered on focus and concentration.
From the point of view of maximizing focus and concentration, boosting the flow state of mind and body, and enhancing flexibility, mental toughness as a concept should be defined properly. In science, it has been described as the ability to deal with pressure, stressors, and challenges effectively (Connaughton et al., 2008). It is also seen as emotional resilience. Examining several studies on mental toughness following characteristics could be found as crucial in being successful: unshakeable self-belief, persistence or refusal to quit, the ability to rebound after failures (resilience), coping effectively with pressure, and retaining concentration in the face of many potential distractions.
So what are the effective strategies to cope with pressure, stressful situations, or challenges? Interestingly, the toughness level doesn't necessarily imply better performance on long run, it rather leads to a more difficult and exhausting journey toward the goals.
Every athlete should examine effectivity of his/her strategies to deal with stressful situations to its very deep details. The toughest ones can be the weakest ones when using non-effective coping strategies. When doing so, a lot of energy goes lost. So imagine the amount of energy that can be released and used to boost performance, while using effective strategies. What a great change would it be for already a very good athlete?
Now a question is probably popping up in your mind: “So how can I find out, if I am using my capacities to their fullness?” There are several ways to examine. Especially when there are struggles that tend to occur frequently or come up very often. For example: In every competition, the stress level and nervousness are so high, that a clear way of thinking is not possible. The wrong approach would be to think, it is an unchangeable characteristic of yours, that is how you are. Frequently occurring issues should be noted, the root of them found and reprocessed using for example an impressive technique called EMDR. That way the issue can be removed and all the mental energy that used to be spent on calming down from the stress is not necessary anymore. Concentration elevates, body relaxes and becomes more flexible so that it can freely and properly react to any challenges.
Also strategies that are used to deal with stressful situations, or emotions should be explored in order to define effective and less useful ones that cost the nervous system and the body too much effort. The goal is to be using the least energy possible. In the next article, you can read what are effective coping strategies.
In summary, mental strength should be rather described as a profound introspection, awareness of what is going on in the mind and body of the athlete. Any unnecessary effort of controlling emotions or stressful situations should be removed leading to the extension of a concentration span. So any time I hear my clients telling me: I try to control or change uncomfortable emotions or negative thoughts, I enhance my attention. Relevant coping strategies are good for unexpecting events, but if we can minimize their usage, more energy can be focused on the actual performance.
Metal strength could turn into a weakness when putting too much effort.
Literature:
Brewer, B. W. (2009). Handbook of sports medicine and science, sport psychology. Chichester: John Wiley& Sons Ltd.
Connaughton, D., Wadey, R., Hanton, S., & Jones, G. (2008). The development and maintenance of mental toughness: Perceptions of elite performers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(1), 83–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410701310958
Weinberg, R. S., and Gould,D.(2003). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign: Human Kinetics.
