Breaking the Fear of Failure

In order to be the best in sport, being able to handle pressure is critical. It is what makes us continually raise our game in response to what is going on around us and challenge those boundaries we once saw as limits. Instead of using this pressure as a stimulant and a positive presence, I found myself getting slightly overwhelmed by it and then shying away. I was afraid of failing so I was never reached my limit, I preferred to play safe rather than risk not completing something. 

Recently I have started working with Gazing Performance Systems on their Red2Blue Approach. I had recognised that this was an area that needed work and I am now in the process of learning and finding out how I can strengthen this and help myself. I want to be able to embrace discomfort and use it to help me attack rather than get scared. Am going to share some of my thoughts along the way, as it is not only applicable to sports but everything that we do.

 

First of all, mindset, mental toughness whatever you want to call it, is a skill. It is something that can be learnt and takes practice. Again, I am surrounded by some very impressive athletes who have incredible resilience and I kind of thought that maybe it was something you either have or you don’t have. However, I was wrong. We are the ones in control of our attention, and we have to learn when we get diverted or are finding things tough, how to refocus and direct that attention elsewhere. 

Mental strength is on a scale; it differs depending upon the context and pressure around that situation. Therefore, just like everything else, everyone is going to have their own strengths and weaknesses. In order to get better it is about learning how to stay calm and clear no matter what situation you are faced, even when things happen that divert the attention because they will. As said, you are the one in control.

 

From the few sessions I have had, Red2Blue has completely normalised everything I was feeling and doing. It is a response that many people have because realistically, the body knows that it is about to do something a little bit uncomfortable and challenging. Obviously it is going to react in different ways because of this, but by looking at this as part of your bodies preparation makes it easier to accept that actually, it is a good thing!

 

The first thing that is so important is accepting that the focus will go. There will be times when we slip into a messy, hot-headed, doubtful mindset, but when this happens we need to recognise that, accept it and then have methods in place to draw back the attention. This is something that I am in the process of figuring out. Methods to draw back attention are very specific to the person as it has got to be something that works for you. It takes practice, as with any skill. You are only going to rely on it and use it if you know it helps you, so spending time figuring this out is going to be important moving forward. 

 

The work I am doing is obviously not only applicable to sports as mentioned, it can be used anywhere at any time with nothing other than some extra thought into where your focus is, how you are thinking and refocusing if that is necessary. Anything from a new job, studying for exams or just situations that happen which are out of our control. By learning to focus on what is actually going to help and is important can make these all seem a lot easier to handle and actually feel even more satisfied when you get through them. Look forward to sharing some more updates!