Mental Toughness Skills Training in Sports

When athletes consider the role of mental strength in sports, history provides a useful framework for understanding the brain-behavior relationship. The physician Hippocrates, of ancient Greece, believed that at the source of all actions and behaviors lies in the brain. As such, in order to perform well in anything physical, it's crucial for the athlete to develop mental strength.

Mental Toughness

• Mental strength or resilience begins with understanding how you think and what triggers certain thoughts or emotions. Aaron Beck, a psychologist who developed cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, believes that when people understand their thoughts, they can ultimately control behavior. Using a CBT approach, an athlete makes note of feelings before, during and after a game or match. Then, he or she rates the thoughts in terms of emotions evoked and potential versus actual outcomes. Beck believes that in doing this, we are forced to look at reality rather than base our actions upon emotion, which is unreliable. This method helps athletes battle such issues as pre-game anxiety or fear.

Biofeedback

• Biofeedback is another useful training tool for mental toughness. Biofeedback involves learning how to control your blood pressure, and heart and breathing rates. A good biofeedback program monitors these bodily functions as the athlete is guided through a set of meditation and relaxation exercises. The goal is to help the athlete learn to mentally control physical reactions that can be very powerful before, during and after matches.

Creative Visualization

• Creative visualization helps athletes form mental images of success before it happens. This technique is more than positive thinking: Creative visualization calls for a meditative state in which athletes create, in their minds, the outcome they wish to achieve. Teams and individual athletes can use this technique to help strengthen mental resolve prior to a game or tournament.