What are three causes of athletes learning to fear failure

What are three causes of athletes learning to fear failure
One of my mental coaching students who struggles with  performance anxiety, was overly concerned with what other people (coach, teammates, parents, spectators, etc.) thought about his performance. He often made assumptions about what others were thinking about him and his performance. We call this mind-reading. In this case the athlete literally thought that he could tell what others were thinking about him.

The Agenda That Causes Sports Anxiety:

  • Avoid embarrassment
  • Avoid making mistakes
  • Have others think he/she is a good athlete.
  • Mind reading what others may be thinking

Worrying to much about what others may be thinking causes athletes to play cautiously and avoid making mistakes.  For example, if a baseball player is worried about what his teammates will think if he gets thrown on the bases he may be less likely to tag on a fly ball, steal on a pass ball, or take a good lead.

Athletes who mind-read are plagued with thoughts such as, “The coach will yank me from the team if I miss an open shot!” or “My team will be disappointed in my performance.” My students performance suffered because he did not allow himself to perform freely without the fear of failure, fear of disappointing others, or fear of making mistakes.

When dealing with sports psychology there are many athletes who’s anxiety hinder their potential by focusing too much on avoiding mistakes and not embarrassing themselves. They think it is better to play it safe than risk embarrassment or disappointment.

While no one wants to feel embarrassed or get benched by the coach, avoiding mistakes and playing safe are huge distractions to athletic performance, at the very least. This type of thinking actually makes athletes perform worse, and then create what they feared might happen.

Ultimately, the fear of failure can cause athletes to play tentatively or defensively and actually hinder their ability to succeed. This state of mind certainly makes playing sports half as much fun for many athletes and causes some to drop out of sports.

Caring too much about what others think comes from the phenomenon called social approval. Social approval is defined as the need to be confirmed and validated by other people. In today’s society, many athletes learn *mind reading* when peer approval and gaining acceptance are primary motivators, especially for young athletes.

Let’s face it, we want the respect from our peers. And, whether you’ve been an athlete for 5 years or 35 years, the fear of letting others down can lead to tentative performances! That’s why helping athletes learn how to play without the fear of failure is so important.

How can an athlete be taught to focus on what’s important, rather than mind reading or focusing too much on the fear of making mistakes? I start by asking my students an important question, “Do you compete for yourself or do you compete to gain respect or approval of people around you?”

This is a tough question for some athletes to answer. Many find it difficult to admit that they compete because they yearn for the acceptance of their team, parents, coach or spectators.

However, the bottom line is that if you want to harness a zone focus and perform at your best, you cannot care about what others think about you and/or your performance. You must learn to overcome mind reading and fear of failure.

To learn more about how to help athletes who  are motivated by social approval or play with a fear of failure visit:

Mental Edge Athletics

Or

Search for other articles on the topic here at Sport Psychology Today: Your Mental Game Resource

What are three causes of athletes learning to fear failure

A big part of my work is helping athletes reach their full athletic potential.  This is accomplished by focusing on three inter-related aspects of training, including physical, technical, and mental development.  On average, athletes who discipline themselves to train in these areas maximize their abilities, even if they don’t all advance to college/professional sports.  But what about athletes who seem to have an abundance of natural talent, but don’t live up to expectations?  Why do some athletes fail to live up to their full potential, often frustrating their coaches, parents, and most importantly, themselves?  From my professional experience there are many reasons why some athletes struggle maximizing their potential, but the following 5 reasons are the most common.

What are three causes of athletes learning to fear failure

Don’t let these things hold you back

Naturally gifted athletes can only rely on their raw abilities for so long.  For many young athletes, sports are easy when they have natural advantages against the competition – being bigger, faster, and stronger is often enough.  But what happens as kids grow older and natural abilities level out?  It is in these moments where the following issues and concerns play a vital role in future success.

  1. Poor focus.  Focus can be broken down into two areas: How an athlete focuses on his or her career with goal setting, and how an athlete focuses before and during competition.  I have found that athletes who don’t set goals usually fail to push themselves enough to reach their full potential, while athletes who set specific, measurable, controllable goals often do.  During competition, it’s equally important to develop a laser-focus on the things that are relevant and controllable (i.e. getting in a great pre-game warmup while not worrying about the referees or weather conditions).  When athletes learn the importance of focus they control their thinking, increase their self-confidence, and play their best as a result.
  2. Can’t control nerves.  Anxiety is a part of competition, but there are also ways in which athletes can control and modify anxiety so that it doesn’t hold them back.  Countless athletes are great “practice players,” but what happens when the lights turn on for a game?  Athletes who take the time to learn and master techniques like imagery, breathing, self-talk, and cue words often teach themselves how to channel would-be anxiety into positive human arousal, allowing them to regularly play in the zone.
  3. Lacking belief and intrinsic motivation.  Belief is directly correlated with success – or lack thereof.  Athletes who believe in themselves play to win, while non-believing athletes play scared and to avoid losing.  Intrinsic motivation is personal motivation that doesn’t rely on being driven by rewards or accolades, but instead the athlete’s desire to be the best.  This is the kind of motivation that prompts an athlete to be the first one to practice, and the last one to leave.  This level of motivation also provides an additional benefit in that it helps galvanize resiliency against losses and injuries as well.
  4. Play the blame game rather than owning results.  Athletes who finger-point outward at things like “politics” rather than owning stress, adversity, frustration, and failure rarely live up to their potential.  How can you ever improve if all you do is complain, and/or point to poor reasons for your failures?  Successful athletes assume there will be tough days, and actually look at failure as teachable moments for future growth and success.
  5. Not willing to outwork the competition.  At the end of the day sports are often decided simply by who wanted it more that day?  Are you willing to do things the competition won’t do?

What are three causes of athletes learning to fear failure

Final thoughts

Practice smarter, not harder.  The ideas presented here are designed to help athletes maximize their abilities by streamlining their thinking and efforts.  If you’re not living up to your expectations, see how you stack up against the 5 most common reasons why I see athletes fail to reach their full potential.  The good news is that change can happen immediately, even if you have been dealing with overcoming bad habits for awhile.

drstankovich.com

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