CHAPTER 7Mental Toughness
“The physical aspect of the sport can only take you so far. In the Olympic Games, everyone is talented. Everyone trains hard. Everyone does the work. What separates the gold medalists from the silver medalists is simply the mental game.”
—Shannon Miller, U.S. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist
Does your mind at work feel like a business pinata, minus the candy falling out? Does it feel like time to stop the swirling in different directions, streaming of interruptions, and constant pummeling of time‐wasting activities? What would it be like to eliminate that “treading‐water” feeling and replace lingering doubt with confident direction? Strengthen your mind, and you gain greater control of your time, talent, and performance.
The journey requires mental toughness. Psychologist Daniel Gucciardi describes mental toughness as “the psychological capacity to drive toward a goal, particularly in response to challenging circumstances. High levels of mental toughness enable individuals to achieve and sustain high levels of performance because they can optimally direct energy toward their personal goals, maximize congruency between their behavior and valued goals and efficiently adapt their thoughts and actions when confronted with stressors.”1
We know this to be absolutely true as it relates to sports. Find the best players in their athletic arena and a large contributor to their success is their mental game. As former tennis pro and author of the book Winning ...
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