Duplicate in your mind, the conditions of play that you are likely to face in your next competition (opponent, field, weather, etc) Create the image of what you are going to experience as vividly
as possible.
Now simultaneously trigger the IPS emotional feeling state that accompanies your best performance.
Fully experience that special combination of feelings as you picture yourself playing at your best.
See yourself handling difficult situations during play
While remaining calm, relaxed, focused, positively energized. Mentally and emotionally rehearse situations that have given
you trouble in the past.
Picture yourself successfully working through these tough situations several times.
See it happen, feel it happen. Don’t worry, it will come!
Don’t become discouraged or disheartened if you are having trouble triggering the desired images or feelings
Practice 10-15minutes 2 times a day Step 3
From this day forward, every timeyou play or practice your sport, you must make a deliberate and conscious effort to create and sustain the internal climate that accompanies your best performance. In other words, you are to trigger your own IPS.
This is the most critical step
No longer will you show up for practice and play and hope the mental skills will come.
You are now taking direct control over the process, practicing mental toughness every time you play or practice your sport There is no difference between play and practice
Every time you enter your arena, you have an objective to create and maintain your Ideal Performance State – NO MATTER WHAT!
No more trial and error learning about mental toughness The objective, purpose and path are clear.
3.1 Controlling Your Ideal Performance State
The Power of Your Physical Presence Weak competitors:
Lack strong and positive physical presence Project feelings of low intensity
indifference Lack of confidence Negativism Poor self-image Uncertainty
Absence of inner strength
Questions to ask for improvement purposes: Do you like what you see?
Do you like the image of yourself as a competitor?
Do you physically project strength, confidence and positive intensity?
How do icons communicate power and confidence?
What do you need to add to improve your presence?
The reason we display outward negative emotions: To let everyone around us know that we are really much better than what we are playing.
“If I don’t show them I’m upset, they’ll think that’s how I play all the time”
This strategy undermines us.
You end up locking in the negative emotions. You continue to feel precisely like you act: Miserable
Upset Negative
How an athlete appears on the outside is often an accurate picture of how he or she is feeling on the inside.
Walk differently
Carry head and shoulder differently Looks of intensity
Looks of determination Looks of confidence Looks of calmness Outstanding competitors:
Have very powerful physical presence Physically exude confidence
Strength Calmness Energy
Once we have a clear picture of what needs to be added to improve a competitor’s image, we start practicing and rehearsing.
Desired images: Fighter Strength Confidence No meekness No politeness
Why is physical image so important? Simple Principle. Powerful Results.
Because of the powerful link between the mind and the body. We cannot affect one without affecting the other.
When changes occur in our physical bodies, we will also have corresponding psychological changes.
Being a mentally tough competitor means controlling how you feel inside (IPS). 3 primary strategies accomplish this.
1. Controlling what you think 2. Controlling what you visualize
3. Controlling how you look on the outside (physical presence) Make a commitment to improve your physical image every time you play or practice your sport
Improve your walk
Your appearance of intensity Your looks of aggressiveness
Improve competitive toughness By improving physical presence.
3.1 Controlling Your Ideal Performance State
Act “As If” in Adversity
You can also fool yourself into feeling weak,
no confidence and negative!
When the feelings aren’t there, act “as if” they were! You can fool yourself into
feeling strong, confident and positive!
The “as if” physical acting
often triggers positive changes in the mental state. When you are feeling down (mental)
When the world has turned against you (mental) When you’ve lost your confidence (mental)
Fight the feelings by controlling how you look on the outside (phy) Start manufacturing confidence physically:
Throw shoulders back Pick up your walk.
Remember, you can’t always control how you feel, but you can always control your physical presence, and that often gets the job done by itself!
Work hard to develop and maintain the physical presence of a champion – no matter how you feel!
3.2 Summary Roadmap to Mental Toughness
Mental Toughness:
Emotional Consistency Performance Consistency
Athletes who have learnt how to trigger a very specific emotional state (IPS) during play are the best competitors
Unusual response to continuous flow of problems and crises Respond in ways that keep them
feeling relax, calm, energized, confident and loving it. How do they do it?
1. Learnt to increase their flow of positive energy in crisis and adversity rather than decrease it
2. Learnt to think in very specific ways; they have the right
attitude towards problems, pressure, mistakes and competition. 3. Learnt how to focus right (exceptional concentration skills) How can I do it?
We can enhance our own mental toughness by adhering to these AET principles.
Increase your awareness of the emotional state that is associated with your best performance
Practicetriggering that ideal constellation of feelings on and off the field.
The more you deliberately practice triggering off your IPS, the more skillful you will become and
the more emotional control you will be able to exercise during competition
Practice visualizing yourself in competition and simultaneously triggering your IPS.
Take every opportunity you can in both practice and play to learn
o how to energize right, o to think right and o to focus right
so that your IPS becomes a regular reality
Remember, the benchmark of all great competitors is how they respond emotionally to problems and crisis:
o they become challenged, o they become inspired and
o they enjoy solving problems during competition. Improving your skills in
o visualizing, o muscle relaxation, o mental relaxation, and o breath control
will accelerate your program in mental toughness Keep a daily record of your efforts.