When The Going Gets Tough, Make A Mental Pivot
Have you ever worked so hard for something only for events to take a turn in a direction you were not expecting or did not want? Perhaps you spent hours practicing to hit a specific pitch to one side of the field, or practiced pitching to a certain spot in a specific count, or maybe even meticulously planned to capture your dream coach’s attention only to have your plan fall apart. You did not hit the pitch where you wanted, you missed the spot on the specific count, or your dream coach did not offer you a scholarship.
These types of events happen routinely in sport and can create stress and anxiety that can quickly disrupt progress. So, how do you keep moving forward toward your goals without letting disruptions stall your progress? The answer lies in building a skill set called mental flexibility.
What is mental flexibility?
Mental flexibility is your ability to appropriately and productively adapt your way of thinking based on a change in a situation or your environment (Dajani & Uddin, 2015). Mental flexibility engages both your capability to shift focus between events (think externally, internally, broad, narrow) and your ability to select ideal behaviors and actions to respond to new events. Your ability to flex in this way can also contribute to your ability to be resilient (Notebaert et al., 2024). At the core, resilience is how well you adapt and remain calm when you are faced with uncertainty or difficulty (for example, hard things, trouble, failure). Both are mental skills elite athletes and successful people use to perform at high levels, and the good news is mental flexibility is a skill you can learn and develop.
How do you build mental flexibility?
There are a variety of ways you can work on your mental flexibility. I present you with a few common techniques I use with athlete clients, and I recommend you select one at a time to try for yourself.
- Focus on action steps. Examine your situation and determine what you CAN do right then or in the future. We often get stuck thinking about what is in the past without realizing there is nothing we can do to change the past. So, shift your thinking to what you can take action on that will move you forward. One acronym you may find helps is to think “What’s Important Now?” (W.I.N.). Once you identify what you can take action on (or what is important now), make a list and get moving!
- Adopt a challenge mindset. When you allow yourself to sit with your negative feelings about a situation too long, your negative thoughts start building on top of each other. Soon, you may find yourself making excuses for not moving forward or doubting your ability. When this happens, you are operating in what is called a “threat mentality.” You do not like the feeling of failing, being uncomfortable, or not getting selected so you see any action as a threat to your sense of comfort. This threat mentality stops you from moving forward toward progress and growth. It is okay to feel how you feel, but after you sit with those feelings for a little while, shift your thinking to a challenge mentality. In a challenge mentality you see obstacles, setbacks, and failure as opportunities. Opportunities can mean a chance to get better, enhance your overall game, or even expand your skill set. Let yourself get excited about what you still have the chance to do!
- Practice opposite action. This technique is good to practice when you need to do something you really do not feel like doing. Perhaps you need to go for a run or get in another practice session, but you are just not feeling like it that day. For those situations, start by acknowledging what you do not want to do. Admit it! It is okay to be tired, bored, frustrated with tasks. Then, tell yourself you are going to do it anyway. Your next step is to go do whatever it is you did not want to do. Here is how I use opposite action self-talk: “I do not want to work out today…..and I’m going to do it anyway.” Then my next action is to start my workout. This technique is one of my favorites because it makes you shift your way of thinking completely (working that mental flex directly!).
These are just a few ways you can start working on your ability to pivot when things do not happen the way you wanted them to happen. The more you practice adjusting your way of thinking in regular, daily life events, the easier it will be to mentally flex on the field. Remember, you are working on developing a skill that will help you adapt more quickly when your situation or environment changes in unexpected ways. I will share more techniques in the coming months that build on various mental skills to help you in your mental fitness journey.
Dr. Megan Buning is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (C.M.P.C.) with over a decade of experience training the mental game.
References
Dajani, D. R., & Uddin, L. Q. (2015). Demystifying cognitive flexibility: Implications for clinical and developmental neuroscience. Trends in Neurosciences, 38(9), 571–578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2015.07.003
Notebaert, L., Clarke, P. J. F., Meeten, F., Todd, J., & Van Bockstaele, B. (2024). Cognitive flexibility and resilience measured through a residual approach. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2024.2353654
