“The main difference between one’s worst and one’s best physical performance always hinges on one’s mental performance.” – Jim Afremow (The Champion’s Comeback, page 31)

Think about the key differences between performance highs and performance lows, the best and worst of your own performances and of athletes you’ve observed. The best performances tend to both appear and feel smooth, effortless, and well put together, while the worst performances tend to look and feel disorganized, choppy and out of sync. During the majority of performance lows, it may feel as if your body is present but your mind elsewhere, resulting in a disruption and disconnection in your overall performance and lowered results. There are more distractions, mistakes, disruptive emotions, and lack of fluidity in performance. When your mind is engaged and appropriate mental skills are utilized, performance tends to flow. You’re able to stay present and connected, focused on the task at hand, quickly make accurate decisions and adjustments, and set your performance up for the win. Physical talent alone cannot fully be relied on for successful performance. Without the mind and the implementation of necessary mental skills, the game cannot be played to its fullest potential.

You can be presented with the most physically gifted athlete in the world, but without an effective mental game that is conducive to their performance, that athlete is not so special anymore. Think about your very best performance. What happened? What were you thinking, if anything? How were you feeling? Now think about your very worst performance. What happened? What were you thinking? What were you feeling? Now compare the two performances. The major difference between the two is very likely your mentality during those performances. Maybe during your best performance, it seemed as if everything just effortlessly fell into place: you managed your thoughts and emotions effectively and were able to focus successfully. Perhaps you nailed all your distances to the jumps without even thinking about it. Even if everything didn’t naturally fall into place, you were likely able to put all the pieces together to produce a successful performance. Your worst performance probably felt like the opposite: your thoughts and emotions were all over the place and you were easily distracted and bothered, resulting in performance errors. It may have felt as if your performance was falling apart and worsening as it went on. No matter how hard you tried, the distances to the jumps just never flowed that day. Athletes tend to feel defeated when their performance was off, and they may even shut down during their lowered performance. The best athletic performances don’t end up with the blue ribbon every time, but the athlete is most likely proud of their performance, which is a win in itself.

The importance of an athlete’s mental performance is the difference between winning and losing, progress and setbacks, high and low confidence levels, and so much more. Athletes can only go so far when they rely on their physical game and leave the rest up to chance. Without training the mind for successful athletic performance, anything can happen during competition, when performance matters the most. Some days, everything will click and performance will go in the intended direction, while other days, everything about the performance will feel as if it’s completely unraveling. It may feel as if you are riding a roller coaster of performance highs and lows. A lack of a strong mental game leaves room for inconsistent performance outcomes, frequent performance dips and plateaus, and a lack of control in your progress, preparation, and execution. Investing, working on, and being intentional about your mental game is crucial to reach your personal level of success within the sport of your choice. The physical aspect of sport is important, but the mental aspect of sport is a game changer.  

Do you prioritize your physical game more than or completely over your mental game? Sometimes, it works out and you gain the win without implementing mental skills. Most of the time, it’s the mental skills that set you apart from other athletes and influence successful performances. The physical game alone can only take athletes so far until a strong, stable mental game is required to progress, win, and level up their performance. This is your sign to start working on and investing in your mental game. Experience the endless benefits by reaching out for direct assistance!