Four Steps to Developing Mental Toughness
- Devote time to deliberate practice - Take a very specific skill and focus on how to improve your performance in that particular area. The goal is to develop consistency in that field by doing the same thing over and over until it becomes more or less instinctive. This will help you to do the same, even in high-pressure situations.
- Commit yourself to being guided by your mind - When the stakes are highest, it is easy to let your emotions triumph over reason. The mentally tough champions know when it is time to take a shot and when they should hold back, because they continue to be mentally disciplined. When emotions are in control, you are much more likely to take inappropriate risks and therefore more likely to make mistakes.
- Remember that you do not win by trying to win - The best players in sports and business achieve greatness by focusing on the tasks at hand, not on the successes they hope to win. The greatest competitors let it happen. If they see opportunities, they capitalize on them. This is where consistency from deliberate practice comes into play.
- Don’t become distracted by mistakes - Refocusing after a mistake is genuinely difficult, but the ability to regain composure and do so quickly is one of the most important attributes in the mind of the champion. Mistakes have no bearing on your quality as a person. However, they should be viewed as vital feedback on your skills and indicators of technical areas that need improvement.
Read more about developing mental toughness in The Dynamic Path by Jim Citrin.





