Mentally Strong, Successful Athletes

I'm posting this article, "The 9 Essential Habits of Mentally Strong People," on my coaching website because these habits are not only what make mentally strong people, they are the qualities of really successful athletes. The best athletes: see things as they are before they react to them; assume they will have setbacks; don't let the highs get too high or the lows get to low; assume that the situation is not always going to go as planned and is not always going to feel good; have a protocol on how to recover when things catch ...them off guard; assume there are options beyond failure, the best athletes know there is always more than one option to overcome any obstacle; are mindful to the best of their ability; persist; and let go of things they can't control.

One thing this article does leave out is that mentally strong people-- and best athletes--know that they are much more than one identity: The best athletes know that they are much more than their physical performance and career. Just for starters, they are also mothers, fathers, brothers, husbands, wives, children, readers, writers, thinkers, employees, etc. The best athletes know that they have these other identities to fall back on when things in their sport life aren't looking positive.

Read this article and try to apply some of these ideas to your own life and multisport career!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/18/the-9-essential-qualitie_n_4760403.html

Jon Fecik
USAT Coach
FB: Jon Fecik's Power On Coaching Page
Twitter: @JonFecik
E-mail: jafecik@gmail.com






Image: Helle Frederiksen, taken from Slowtwitch Forum