245 How To Overcome The Fear Of Winning

Demystifying Mental Toughness

During the Wimbledon tennis tournament this week there will many players who are faced with great opportunities to win matches yet will struggle to close out victory. Future thoughts will fill their head about the draw in the next round or the importance of the next point. Their attention may also flit into the past where they replay key points from other matches that they have played that didn’t go their way.

In today’s episode I talk about fear of success, a common challenge not only for tennis players but for cricketers, footballers, golfers and many other athletes. I go on to share some strategies that can help you.

Key Learning Points:

• Future thoughts about success take you away from the present moment or “The zone”.
• Thinking about past events or predicting the future is OK, it proves that you are human.
• The key is recognising your thoughts and accepting them, not allowing them to consume you so that you end up in “judgement mode”.
• Judgement mode can see athletes get caught out reading too much into their thoughts.
• Negative thoughts about past situations and thoughts where you try to predict the future can easily turn into tension and naturally rhythm and timing disappears.
• Even top athletes like Djokovic don’t remain present all of the time, however they have great processes and routines to overcome such situations.

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Related Resources to help you manage your emotions better

Podcast Ep013: Karl Morris – How to stay present like a major champion

Podcast Ep 081: Stuart Wade – Mental Toughness in Combat Sports

Mental Edge - How You Can Learn Ways To Perform Better Under Pressure

Mental Edge - How To Cope Better With Pressure When You Execute Your Skills

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