From Fear to Fierce: Mental Toughness for Athletes
I felt frozen with fear. I could feel every heartbeat, I was aware of every breath. It felt as if time slowed down. I was laser focused on what was in front of my wheel. I saw every rock, every rut. I was very afraid while descending the hill. I didn’t want to fall, the hill was steep, the rocks were sharp, the gravel was loose. I didn't want to feel afraid, I wanted to feel confident. However confidence was elusive in those few moments. At that moment I had a choice, I could test my skills, rely on my experience and ride down the hill, or I could let fear and doubt take over, dismount and walk down the hill. I chose to ride, I got down the hill, took that experience and use it every time I am faced with an element of a ride that scares me.
Fear, it's a formidable opponent, lurking in the shadows of every athlete's mind. Whether it's the swimmer battling doubt at the starting line, or the cyclist gripping the handlebars on a treacherous descent, fear can be a paralyzing force. Overcoming fear is about unlocking our full potential and embracing the challenges that life and sports throw our way. This post will explore the nature of fear, its impact on athletes, and practical strategies to conquer it.
Like anxiety, fear is a basic human emotion. Anxiety and fear overlap, and may often physically feel similar. In both you may have a racing heartbeat, both you may feel tense muscles. Anxiety occurs due to uncertainty, and is usually about something in the future. Fear occurs as a result of an impending threat. Fear starts with an outside stimulus, our body perceives the stimulus, our brain gets us ready to protect ourselves. We go into fight, flight or freeze.
Our brain is a prediction machine! It loves predictability! When in a scary situation that is the opposite of predictability. Often our brain wants us to avoid what scares us. We want to stay comfortable. Staying comfortable does not allow us the opportunity to grow, to learn and to be brave. Avoidance will help us feel comfortable, but it will never make us less afraid. As athletes we need to work through the fear, and recognize that fear can even make us better athletes. It can give us more focus, working through fear can help us feel more confident.
In sports we need to work with fear. Even when afraid we can still act. We can use the laser focus, we can use the adrenaline to get us through the difficult situations. We can then look back, learn from what we accomplished and help us feel less afraid and more confident the next time we are faced with something similar.
How should we address the fear? First we have to recognize it. We have to acknowledge what we are feeling. Just the basic acknowledgement gives us power over the strong human desire to avoid what scares us. Next we need to understand why we are afraid. What is it that scares us in this moment? We need to explore what we can do and then we want to respond using our chosen option.
I know this is much easier said than done. Here are some tools to use the next time you find yourself feeling scared at a race or training event.
Breathe…..Yes, you have heard this before. You have heard it often because it works. Intentional breaths with long exhales literally tell our body that it is safe. For many box breathing does wonders! To do this picture your breath like a square, 4 equal sides. One side is inhale, one side is hold, one side is exhale and the other side is hold. Inhale for a count of 5, hold for a count of 5, exhale for a count of 5, hold for a count of 5 (or chose whatever number works best for you!). Do 5 or more sets. The more you do, the safer your body will start to feel. I recommend practicing this a few times a day. Notice how you feel before, and how you feel after completing a number of sets
Blue Bike, it is something I have discussed in other blogs. This is a basic orientating practice that gets you in the here and now. If you are in the middle of a treacherous descent, I don’t recommend looking around! Instead notice what is immediately in front of you.
Have a mantra or something to say to yourself. I recommend saying something that is the opposite of the fear thoughts. If your fear thought is “I suck! I’m going to fall!”, the mantra can be “I’m a good rider, I can handle this”. You can also have directions to say to yourself like “just put one foot in front of the other” or “each stroke is getting me closer to the finish line, I can do one more stroke!”
Fear, we all experience it! We don’t always have to be frozen by it. Get out there, get out of your comfort zone and do the thing that scares you.
Share this blog with others who may have experienced fear on the race course. In the comments below, let me know when you have experienced fear on the race course or training day, let me know how you handled it.
