Mind Over Matter: How Psychology Boosts Athletic Success
Do you know that up to 85% of athletes’ successful or unsuccessful sports performances can be identified using psychological measures?
At first glance, sports and psychology may appear to be two unrelated fields of expertise. However, the reality is quite astonishing: the psychology of sports stands as a critical scientific discipline, exerting the most profound influence on athletes’ performance.
Tracing Psychology On Sports Performance
For a long time, it was believed that physical fitness was the sole determinant of sports performance. Athletes worldwide are advised to follow a healthy diet plan, build strong muscles, and maintain a healthy body.
However, this perception was first revolutionized in 1898 when psychologist Norman Triplett made an amazing discovery with his social experimentation. Wondering what he had done?
Norman experimented with cyclists in the region and found that those who rode with peers performed better than solo cyclists. He stated that factors such as the social and competitive environment are needed for better performance.
That’s when the world understood that something beyond physical stamina affects an athlete’s sports performance: psychological factors. Later, various scientific studies and papers proved that along with physical wellbeing, psychological factors are equally crucial in deciding sports performance. This gave rise to a unique theory called sports psychology that is accepted worldwide today by leading performance coaches and institutes.
Exploring Five Popular Factors Of Sports Psychology
Sports psychology is not a fixed subject but a combination of overlapping theories that every athlete must understand to thrive on the field. However, it’s not easy to sum up all of sports psychology in a few points. Here we list the key factors of concern in sports psychology.
Mental Toughness Reflects Self-Belief
One popular factor that impacts athletic performance is mental toughness. Defined as the ability to handle pressure, adversity and stress, mental toughness is the state of staying and handling the situation rather than quitting. At times, even the winning match turns into a losing one, creating huge stress on the team players. Studies prove that a mentally tough athlete knows how to maintain consistency and focus and take control of the field, especially under pressure.
Moreover, mental toughness reflects self-belief, one of the essential factors behind sports performance. You might have seen, during a training session or event, how one athlete takes criticism as constructive feedback while the other feels disappointed and embraced because of the same words. Do you know what has created this widening difference? Mental toughness.
This fact is supported by an interview with sports professionals competing at an international level. The interviewer found out that mentally tough athletes have an unshakeable self-belief in their abilities to achieve goals. They even see challenges as an opportunity to create records. To improve mental toughness performance, coaches execute a combination of skills training, coping mechanisms, and mindfulness practices and relaxation.
Motivation Is What It Takes To Maintain
The next psychological factor that impacts the athlete’s ability to focus and achieve high sports performance is motivation. However, it’s not the sole motivation; in fact, it is applying motivation with a commitment to achieve the goals.
In simple terms, motivation is defined as the energy that maintains, sustains, and channelizes tasks for an extended period. Many theories define the impact of motivation on athlete performance. The most popular is the Self-determination theory, which states that when an individual feels intrinsically motivated, he enjoys the physical activity he is doing. The activity is more likely to happen more often and smoothly.
A recent study about sports performance and intrinsic motivation revealed a positive correlation between the two. In fact, motivation helps candidates score well and improves their ability to focus and achieve sports excellence, creating an urge to stay physically fit and active.
Anxiety: A Roller Coaster Emotion
Anxiety impacts sports performance as one of the most complex psychological factors that defines variable results. The degree of anxiety is impacted by factors like a perceived trait, the importance of the event, perfectionism and confidence level. Moreover, anxiety reflects both positive and negative outcomes depending on the intensity and situation it occurs in. While moderate anxiety motivates the athletes to take desired action, anxiety at an extreme level might create a reverse impact.
An extreme state of anxiety worsens the performance of the athlete. Under extreme pressure, athletes often lose their focus and decision-making skills. This decreases the athlete’s performance and enjoyment and he may perform worse than expected. This is called choking.
While an athlete requires a certain level of anxiety or stress to begin and start the event, called arousal, too much of it might cause them to crumble.
Confidence: The Ultimate Factor Behind Sports Performance
While lack of confidence is an essential factor in competition anxiety, it also plays a crucial role in mental toughness. Confident athletes are 1000 times better performers on the field than those who strike underconfidence.
There’s a quote from Gaelic footballer Micheal Nolan that says, “It’s not who we are that holds us back; it’s who we think we’re not.” Thus, it won’t be an exaggeration to state that confidence is the ultimate measure of sports performance. Wondering how confidence works to analyze the athletic performance of the individuals?
Individuals with optimal self-confidence see challenges as a part of life rather than an obstacle. Those with low self-esteem believe that even simple challenges create troublesome hurdles for them. That’s why nine-time gold medalist Carl Lewis stated, “If you don’t have confidence, you will always find a way not to win.” Thus, self-confidence is more like a regulator of the athlete’s performance. But that doesn’t mean that confidence has no negative aspects. You might have heard of overconfidence, which is associated with having extra beliefs that can sometimes turn into dangerous situations.
Setting Feasible Goals: Start Of Every Journey
High sports performance starts with setting feasible goals. Setting feasible goals means breaking down a big goal into smaller ones and following a SMART approach (i.e., specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound).
Recent studies have revealed that sports goals point to a dichotomy between improving skills and competitiveness. Indirectly, goal setting is associated with the mental wellbeing of individuals. A well-constructed goal motivates individuals toward it. Setting high standards of goals without focusing on a realistic approach might create unnecessary anxiety among athletes.
For example, if you begin your training for a marathon and compare your target pace to someone who has been running for years, this is likely to be far beyond achievable in the short term and can have rather negative impact on your performance.
Role of High-Performance Coaching in Sports Psychology
If you are someone who struggles to understand the perspective of sports psychology and how you can implement those in your everyday routine, don’t hesitate to seek assistance from a high-performance coach who specializes in athletic training. Athlete performance coaches combine the science of physiology and psychology to create a customized and personalized plan which minimizes the risk of injuries while unlocking a full range of athletes capabilities. You can also check out two related articles in “Positivity” and “Self-confidence”.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, psychological factors are crucial in defining an athlete’s performance. While physical factors were traditionally the main focus, the importance of psychology in sports has gained recognition over time. However, challenges such as limited resources and awareness remain. For comprehensive support, consider Meier Healthcare’s Athletic Health & Performance Program, which offers evidence-based training and coaching to enhance not only athletic performance but all areas of life that matter to you.
