The reality is that sports have moments of immense pressure to achieve specific outcomes, whether it’s winning a championship, setting a personal record, or simply meeting external expectations. We are not going to attempt to reject this truth. In fact, accepting it as reality is much more powerful.
What we also know is that this single-minded focus on results can lead to stress, anxiety, and burnout. However, we can absolutely develop mental approaches that offset these negative aspects. Using the principle teachings of equanimity and non-attachment, we train athletes how they can shift focus from outcomes to the daily process of growth, improvement, and mastery, ultimately enhancing performance and well-being.
Mental strength is built from learning and developing these psychological skills through the utilization of daily mental training exercises.
Equanimity
Equanimity is the ability to maintain mental calmness and composure regardless of circumstances, and is a powerful mental skill to develop. Essentially, it’s the definition of “not getting too high, or too low”. By practicing reps (breathwork, reframing, intentional focus) of finding calm over and over again, it allows us to stay centered and balanced in the face of both success and failure. When we improve equanimity (our self-control), we can approach each competition or training session with a steady mind, unshaken by the highs and lows that are inherent in sports (and life). This mental stability and perspective help us perform more consistently and recover quickly from setbacks.
Non-attachment
Non-attachment pairs with equanimity by encouraging us to let go of our fixation on specific outcomes. This is a way for us to dissect ourselves – the whole person – from winning or achieving a particular goal, and instead practice a focus on the process itself—the daily effort, discipline, and dedication required to improve and master our sport. This is truly the only space that we have some level of control. This shift in perspective reduces the fight, flight, or freeze reaction associated with NEEDING a perfect performance and allows athletes to become fully present in the journey of mastery and development. This is at the core of emotion regulation and managing of performance anxiety.
Things like the small details, new skill development, an extra rep, film review, and relationship building become enhanced with this focus.
To build equanimity and non-attachment we teach mindfulness meditation through the DoSo app. By regularly practicing these ‘mindset workouts’, we can train our minds to stay present and be aware of our thoughts and emotions, but without judging or reacting to them. This practice helps us recognize when we are becoming overly attached to outcomes and we can redirect our focus back to the present moment and the task at hand. Every time we do this it’s another rep of building “mental muscle”. The ability to be in the space of equanimity and non-attachment becomes easier and faster as we increase our “reps”.
Equanimity and non-attachment also encourage us to embrace the times that we do fall short as a natural and valuable part of the growth process. It’s a long-term – “consistency mindset” for development instead of a short-term view. When we’re not OVERLY attached to everything going exactly as we want, we can see mistakes and losses as data points for learning and development. This mindset fosters resilience towards challenges, rather than the fear that can sometimes prevent us from taking the risks it takes to grow and become more.
Equanimity and non-attachment offer us a transformative approach to our sport. We’re not rejecting the concept that “winning matters”, but what we are doing is developing a laser focus on what helps us to win yet we have some control over. By letting go of our attachment to specific outcomes and focusing on the process of growth, improvement, and mastery, we can achieve greater consistency, resilience, and fulfillment in our pursuits. Embracing these principles not only enhances performance but also establishes a healthier, more sustainable approach to sport and life.
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Stuart Singer, M.Ed., and PsyD is the Director of WellPerformance, a Mental Performance Coaching and Consulting practice, and the creator of the DoSo app https://t.co/R61vbpda4X . For more information regarding this topic, he can be contacted at ssinger@wellperformancecoach.com or follow him on X: @wellperformance, or Instagram: @wellperformance
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