Psych Your Mind!

Any onlooker and somewhat understand the physical training we athletes undergo.  You can see us training- running sprints, lifting heavy weights.  You can see the blood and sweat that goes into the physical training to be an elite athlete, but what you can't see is where the game is really won- in between our ears. 

Once you get to elite athlete status- the physical difference between athletes is minimal.  All the athletes have reached that level because they are the finest their sport has to offer- they are the greatest their country has to offer.  All of these elite athletes are then training hard to maximize their physical ability as much as possible.  So if you have the greatest athletes in the world physically, what makes the difference?  What makes champions vs. elite athletes who never make it to the top?  

The mental side to the game is so critical!  I've had to learn this over the years- and every day I still must work on my mental approach.  The difference between winning and losing at this level is purely mental.  Who can push themselves more to the limit- through the grueling workouts?  Who can handle the pressure when the pressure is the highest- like the Olympics?  Who can handle training full time and in our case- working as much as possible- and worrying about all other sorts of life problems- and still compete at the highest level?  Who can repeatedly face failure- yet keep their confidence?  

The last one is key.  As an athlete you compete against others, but the greatest battle is you vs yourself.  In sport you will inevitably face failure.  How you recover from that failure makes all the difference.  Will you fold and give up?  Or will you fight?  The athletes that fight and learn from their failure are the ones who will succeed.  It's not easy to do- trust- but at some point in your career as an athlete you have to look at yourself in the mirror and decide what you want to do- do you want to give up and let failure defeat you- or do you want to fight?

I had a pretty tough week mentally- my physical training was grueling and I was forced to deal with the feelings when you don't live up to your own expectations.  The week could have easily crushed my spirit- but I chose to fight...and I have grown so much as a result of this week.  I am mentally stronger because of just this one week- and therefore I am a stronger athlete.