Sports Psychology and Fear of Failure in Athletes
Written by admin on March 17, 2010 – 12:28 am -
One of my mental coaching students, Joe (not his real name) had a unique gift (or so he thought). Since he was overly concerned with what other people thought (coach, teammates, parents, spectators, etc.) about his performance, he often engaged in a process I call mind reading when performing.
While Joe was mind reading, he made assumptions about what others were thinking about him. He literally thought that he could tell what others were thinking about him. Joe’s hidden agenda was to avoid embarrassment, to not make mistakes, and have others think he was a good athlete.
This preoccupation with mind reading what others may be thinking about him caused him to play cautiously and avoid mistakes. He was plagued with thoughts such as, “The coach will yank me from the team if I miss an open shot!” or “My team will be disappointed in my performance.”
Joe’s performance suffered because he did not allow himself to perform freely without the fear of failure, fear of disappointing others, or fear of making mistakes.
Joe is not alone. In fact, many athletes hinder their potential by focusing too much on avoiding mistakes and not embarrassing themselves. They think it is better to play it safe than risk embarrassment or disappointment.
While no one wants to feel embarrassed or get benched by the coach, avoiding mistakes and playing safe are huge distractions to athletic performance, at the very least. This type of thinking actually makes athletes perform worse, and then realize what they feared might happen.
Ultimately, the fear of failure can cause athletes to play tentatively or defensively and actually hinder their ability to succeed. This state of mind certainly makes playing sports half as much fun for many athletes and causes some to drop out of sports.
Caring too much about what others think comes from the phenomenon called social approval. Social approval is defined as the need to be confirmed and validated by other people. In today’s society, many athletes learn *mind reading* when peer approval and gaining acceptance are primary motivators, especially for young athletes.
Let’s face it, we want the respect from our peers. And, whether you’ve been an athlete for 5 years or 35 years, the fear of letting others down can lead to tentative performances! That’s why helping athletes learn how to play without the fear of failure is so important.
How can an athlete be taught to focus on what’s important, rather than mind reading or focusing too much on the fear of failure? I start by asking my students an important question, “Do you compete for yourself *or* do you compete to gain respect or approval of people around you?”
This is a tough question for some athletes to answer. Many find it difficult to admit that they compete because they yearn for the acceptance of their team, parents, coach or spectators.
However, the bottom line is that if you want to harness a zone focus and perform at your best, you cannot care about what others think about you and/or your performance. You must learn to overcome mind reading and fear of failure.
I help my students achieve this in many ways. One way is with my teleseminars. For example, one class I teach is, “Everyone is Watching Me! How to Stop Worrying about What Others Think.” I cover the techniques needed to stop worrying about what others think to create a stronger mindset.
You can access this seminar and more than 24 other teleseminars in my online mental training program at peaksports network. To gain access to my systematic online mental toughness program visit: http://www.peaksportsnetwork.com.
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Want to learn simple, proven mental toughness skills that you can apply to competition? Grab my free online mental training newsletter, Sports Insights Magazine – for athletes, coaches, and sports parents:
http://www.peaksports.com/free_newsletter.php
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Dr. Patrick Cohn is a master mental game coach who work with professional and amateur athletes, sports parents, and teams of all levels. Visit http://www.peaksports.com for more information.
Tags: Athletes', Failure, fear, Psychology, Sports
Posted in Behaviors | No Comments »
Values & Fear of Failure
Written by admin on March 16, 2010 – 3:53 pm -
Values
We all have a hierarchy of values. The goals that you set yourself are supported by your value system. You see, do and associate with things that support your values. In the hierarchy of your values, you have prioritized your values. If money or wealth in your hierarchy of values is rated number seven while entertainment or love of children are top on your hierarchy of values, without fail, you will spend money according to your value system. You will invest in entertainment and ensure that your friends know that you are a good entertainer. You will always seek out entertainment. Similarly, if your top value is the love of children, children will become your wealth. You will have a career working with children or you may be blessed with plenty of children of your own. Fortunately you can change your value system. You see values are like habits they can be changed. However, you may have to learn how to do things differently and in new ways, and value new ways of looking at the world. In order to decide what values you want to prioritize, you must first understand what is important to you, what you believe will bring you a better life and what you consider to be right and will make you happy. The choice is yours, you can choose new options, new directions and new habits.
Fear and doubts will always arise because as you go through the various stages in your success journey, you meet new things that you have never confronted before. I am not aware of any cure for getting rid of fear and self-doubt forever and never having to face it again. Rather, I know that you can deal with fear and self-doubt whenever it arises. The truth therefore is that fear will never go away as long as you continue to grow. You need to understand that you will always experience fear whenever you are on unfamiliar territory. To succeed you must learn to take calculated risks and take that leap of faith trusting that what you want to accomplish will materialize. The only way to become the best in your field and to be successful is to harness the fear of failure and get out and do it. Build yourself up, and develop more trust in your ability by handling whatever comes your way, read relevant books in your field, attend seminars, listen to audio CDs of people who are successful in their fields and identify the principles they have applied to make them successful. Do not let fear hold you back from personal growth
fear nothing and no one and take responsibility for your life. Fear and inertia are two of the most devastating factors that will keep you poor for the rest of your life.
Harnessing The Fear of Failure
I have a Human Resource background and I am committed to long life learning.
Tags: Failure, fear, Values
Posted in Behaviors | No Comments »
Metalosophy: Fear of Failure, Fear of Success
Written by admin on March 15, 2010 – 5:19 pm -
Fear paralyzes people from moving towards their goals. The two primary fears that war against personal achievement are the fear of failure and the fear of success. Learn how to crush both of them and get on the fast track to metal success!
Tags: Failure, fear, Metalosophy, Success
Posted in Emotions | 10 Comments »
Here’s the Bright Side: Of Failure, Fear, Cancer, Divorce, and Other Bum Raps
Written by admin on February 28, 2010 – 12:46 pm -
Product Description
Do clouds truly have silver linings? Betty Rollin answers with a resounding yes in this wise, moving, and funny book about the surprising upsides to life’s most challenging, painful, and seemingly insurmountable low blows. Rollin has been there. After being diagnosed with breast cancer more than thirty years ago–and again nine years later–she managed to find an astonishingly bright side to the darkness. She shares her often zany and unpredictable personal expe… More >>
Here’s the Bright Side: Of Failure, Fear, Cancer, Divorce, and Other Bum Raps
Tags: Bright, Cancer, Divorce, Failure, fear, Here's, Raps, Side
Posted in Behaviors | 5 Comments »
BMV Quantum Subliminal CD End Fear of Failure: Overcome Failing Phobia
Written by admin on February 27, 2010 – 12:07 pm -
Product Description
Program your subconscious mind to overcome fear of failure. Increase your courage and improve your confidence. Develop positive beliefs and expectations about yourself to ensure success. Create life-changing results using state-of-the-art subliminal and brainwave entrainment technologies. Tune your brainwaves to specific frequencies by listening to this CD! Program your subconscious mind for positive lasting results, created by a Certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Pra… More >>
BMV Quantum Subliminal CD End Fear of Failure: Overcome Failing Phobia
Tags: Failing, Failure, fear, Overcome, phobia, Quantum, Subliminal
Posted in Behaviors | No Comments »
Is there anyway to get over a fear of failure?
Written by admin on February 24, 2010 – 2:33 pm -I believe I fear failure, is there anyway I can over come it?
Tags: anyway, Failure, fear, over, there
Posted in Behaviors | 5 Comments »
