Athletes contact us all the time with problems. We work to give the best response possible with an exercise or tip to get started. After a few weeks pass, once in awhile an athlete will say, “I tried it and it doesn’t work.”
Why is mindset change not instantaneous?
Did you land your double axel when you first started skating? No, it took years of development. Maybe you still haven’t landed it yet. There is a great amount of physical and mental development and practice that goes into a double axel. You know that, you live it every day.
After a few weeks of working on a new jump, do you give up? Do you conclude that the technique your coach is teaching you doesn’t work, or that your coach is not effective? Of course not.
You know that new skills take practice to master. You need to work with your coach on the new skill for a period of time. It is a process of discovery to find your strengths, weaknesses and where are you with the skill right now. Your coach tries different things to figure out the best way to teach you.
It is the same with mental game training.
Is it reasonable to beat yourself up when you fail to change your mindset in a week or a month or even a year?
Add the fact that most athletes pay attention to mental game training only when they are in trouble. They are stressed, tense, and worried. It is difficult to learn new skills in this frame of mind.
Is it fair to expect your mental game to turn around after reading a few articles or “trying” a few exercises for a week? No.
When you have been thinking the same way for years, it will take time to change. The good news is that you can do it. But you need to start.
Consistent Mental Game Training Works
We work with athletes over a period of time before we see permanent mindset changes. Of course, like anything, when you start to pay attention to your mental game, your practice and performance will get better. It is a process of continual improvement.
But, long term bulletproof mental toughness, especially under pressure takes practice and work.
How much should you work on your mental game?
Here is the best answer I ever heard. It comes from an ICE student:
I work on my mental game every moment I am on the ice. I never stop.
Mental game training teaches you ways to bring and keep your focus in the present moment. Being in the present moment is necessary for your best performance. ICE training uses baby steps designed to peel away any habits or assumptions that keep you from being present in the moment.
Do you expect too much of yourself? Some athletes skip to the final outcome without building a strong foundation. Then decide that mental game training doesn’t work.
For example “I will focus on one thing at a time.”
This sounds easy, but not everyone knows what “focus” feels like. Once an athlete knows what focus feels like, they can take the next step and learn to manage their focus.
Mental Game Training Works Only When You Do
Many athletes have bungee jumping mindsets, up one minute, down the next. This is because they don’t do the work every day.
The usual priority for skaters (and parents) is:
- On ice skills
- Off ice
- Dance
- Mental game training and everything else
If you want to transform your thinking, you need to work on mental game skills consistently. Not only when you have a problem, a competition, or something is not going well.
The best way to make sure you work your mental game daily is to find someone to hold you accountable. When you know you will be reporting to someone weekly, you will remember to do the work.
Some think that if you have to be reminded to do your mental game work, you are weak willed or not interested enough. The reality is that very few people have the self discipline to follow through with everything they need to do. It’s why you need to do mental game training in the first place.
Give yourself permission to ask for or hire help. The most successful people in the world work with mental game, life or business coaches. You don’t have to work with ICE, there are many coaches out there. Find a coach that is a good fit and just start!
Athletes that do the work are more likely to change their stinkin’ thinkin’ into champion thinking.
Mental game coaches are experts in this area. They have insight that comes from years of experience. This expertise can save you time and money and boost your skating performance.
The best coaches will take you from where you are straight to a strong confident mindset. When problems come up, you can blast through them instead of staying stuck.
Mental game professionals hold you accountable. The most challenging part of mental game training is that you must do it everyday. Once you have practiced it enough it becomes a habit, a new way of thinking.
In our experience, over time skaters do improve their ability to be present in the moment. It begins with very short periods of time during practice and competition. The longer the athlete works on their mental game, the longer they stay in the present. It is a gradual change, full of natural ups and downs.
Even if you have been stuck for a while you can change. When you commit to training your mental game every moment on the ice, you can transform your mindset.
Rx: Bulletproof Mindset
Mental game training teaches you how to focus on the present moment. This allows you to manage your emotions, self doubts and fears. The human brain is wired to think about one thing at a time. When you focus on what you are doing, other thoughts don’t exist.
Many problems and challenges disappear when you focus on what you are doing. You will be so immersed in your tasks, you won’t notice what others are doing on the ice. You won’t have time to make comparisons.
When you are in the moment, you won’t worry that you are taking too long to learn a jump. Instead of dwelling in the past, you have the energy to practice, improve, and land the jump.
When you doubt you will ever land your double Lutz, you will be able to refocus back to improving your technique. When you pay attention to what you are doing, you have a better chance of success.
You will still have hard times, but you will know how to get back on track quicker by using your mental game training.
Call to Action
Take the first step. Start your mental game training by downloading this free eBook.
To listen to the audio version of this article click here
Use the following links to read the previous articles in this series:
Part 1 Mental Game Training is for Life
Part 2 You Must Be Present to Win