Psychological factors have a greater impact on athletic success in competition than physical factors. Strong mental games and controlling emotions separate good athletes from great athletes. The relationship between sports and psychological well-being has surged to public attention recently and has become an important aspect in athletic performance, and should be talked about more in sports.
Athletes often perform well in training or practice but often struggle on competition days due to mental barriers like anxiety, nerves or overthinking. Preparing mentally for competition is equally, if not more, impactful than preparing physically, which includes building a consistent routine and getting in the correct state of mind.
“Just as there is the physical side, there’s also a mental side to every sport and every game,” PhD psychologist Rachel Vanderkruik said from the Mass General Brigham.
Athletes execute what they want to do best when their mind is clear and they care less. One of the strongest mental habits is trusting in all of the work that athletes put in, instead of worrying about outcomes, which is more important than talent itself because of the people who trust themselves under pressure.
“A full mind is an empty bat,” Yogi Berra, New York Yankees star, said from ScienceDirect.
Mental toughness is the ability to handle pressure, adversity and stress by overcoming failures. Increased mental toughness creates higher confidence, consistency, control and positive cognition and visualizations compared to opponents, giving these athletes a clear advantage because they are the ones that are most likely to perform at the highest level.
“Mental tightness was evident to be correlated with any important aspects such as better performance, goal progress, withholding stress, coping, optimism and self-reflection,” Dr. P. Raja Soundara Pandian, research scholar, Department of Psychology, said.
Overthinking is one of the biggest barriers to competition success. Overthinking happens when athletes shift their focus from process goals to outcome goals, which leads to doubt, distractions, and unnecessary stress.
Having positive thoughts and motivations prior to competition that athletes want to focus on, in an attempt to eliminate the negative or anxious thoughts, Anna Duggan, Doctor of Physical Therapy at the Mayo Clinic, explained.
Working on the mental side of sports is a very important habit to improve athletes’ confidence in competition and elevate their performance. Mentally rehearsing success, building a routine and developing focus with self-talk are ways to practice building the psychological foundation for success, which can often be the deciding factor in success.
The mental game is like a muscle, just like people train physically and condition our muscles, “it is also important to practice and develop these mental skills. The more you practice them, the stronger and more effective they become,” Vanderkruik said.
In the recent Olympics, up to 90% of Olympians used mental rehearsals prior to competition to enhance their performance. About 88% of studies have found that mental toughness and mentally strong athletes have higher success and more consistent performance.
“Mental toughness covers more ground than grit or resilience alone. Research shows it can explain up to 25% of performance differences. It works as a complete framework that has self-belief, emotional control, focus, success mindset and situational awareness,” Dr. Paul McCarthy said.
Athletic success is shaped not only by the physical side but also by the mental side. When athletes develop the key psychological factors, including focus, confidence and mental toughness, it increases the athletes’ chances for success.
