How to Turn Disappointment into Motivation

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Mental Toughness Lessons from World Figure Skating Championships

The skating world was a buzz this weekend with the skating of the 2016 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts. There were many exciting moments and also moments of disappointments. One of the most public disappointments was that of Gracie Gold.

United States National Champion Gracie Gold led the Women’s field after the Short Program. After she skated her Freeskate Program, she finished just off the podium in fourth place.  Elite athletes are under the spotlight at times when they might want to be alone.  Gracie gave us, the human side of sport, and an opportunity for younger athletes to learn that the feelings they have are normal and can be managed.

In her video interview, Gold said:

“I’m really sad, and I’m really embarrassed. I feel really ashamed of how I skated and how I tried to represent my country. It just is a really, really terrible moment for me and my skating…”

I can almost guarantee that 9 out of every 10 competitive skaters have had similar thoughts or feelings at some point in their careers. Many have felt this way multiple times in a single season. These thoughts are nothing new.

What an athlete can learn from this interview is that no one is immune to thoughts of self doubt and disappointment. Elite athletes, National Champions, International Champions, even Olympic Champions have had these thoughts at some point in their skating careers.

The difference between those who quit and those who continue “skate on” is the action they take. It’s your choice. Will you give up or use the experience as fuel to move forward towards your goal.

Gracie goes on to say, “I still have hopes for the 2018 Olympics, but we’ll have to step back and re-evaluate what’s realistic for my future skating.”

No doubt Gracie has a strong and supportive team around her. Her Coach, Frank Carroll and his associates, Gracie’s family, Team USA and the rest of her support team will sit down after all the emotion has died down and recap the season. With perspective and wisdom, they will identify strengths, weaknesses, decide on a vision for the next season and design a plan for 2017 and beyond.

The next time you find yourself disappointed at the way you skated at a competition, give yourself permission to be sad and disappointed, then move forward. I have all my students write a “post competition assessment”. In the assessment I ask them to list what they did well and what they want to improve on for the next competition. I find this useful because it brings perspective to the performance.

“I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.”– Tom Landry

In Gracie’s Freeskate Program there were many things she did well. Remember, she was fourth in the world!  However in the heat of the moment, an athlete will only focus on the mistakes. Athletes working on their Mental Toughness can learn from this moment that gaining perspective will help them move forward, to be proactive and create a plan for the next competition or the next season addressing areas that will improve their performance.

Watch Gracie Gold’s Interview

Mental skills training can help to keep your emotions on an even keel so that you can practice and compete your best. 

Start here; download “Confidence Myth Busters,” a complimentary eBook and make a change.