Learn from the Mentality of High Performance Athletes
High-performance athletes may appear to be from another planet! Their extraordinary physical characteristics make them stand out above everyone else, and they also possess psychological characteristics that make them unique. What can we learn from the mentality of professional athletes?
Due to the demands of high-performance sports, athletes must adapt and transform in order to meet their goals and not be left behind. This is very important since high performance is more oriented towards the achievement of objectives, and not so much towards enjoyment as in regular sports.
Surely, we can’t all become professional athletes, only a few achieve it? But this doesn’t mean that their levels of performance are completely alien to us. You can learn a lot from professional athletes, their personal history, and how they managed to overcome adversity.
For all of these reasons, we’ll discuss the essential characteristics of these top-level athletes, as well as how you can apply them to your own level of performance.
Resilience, key in the mentality of high-performance athletes
In the career of a professional athlete, there are obstacles and difficult moments that they have to face and overcome. However, thanks to their resilience, they not only manage to overcome adversity but also learn from it and grow.
The relationship between resilience and sports has been extensively studied since this psychological variable is a protective factor against exhaustion syndrome, also known as burnout.
On the other hand, it seems that the level of performance is related to the level of resilience of an athlete. In a study by the University of Granada, they concluded that professional soccer players had greater resilience than amateurs.
Resilience isn’t an innate trait, you can train it. In fact, sports psychologists have developed intervention programs with the aim of enhancing it.
High-performance athletes: responsible people
One of the main characteristics of high-performance athletes is their commitment to meeting established goals. Responsibility includes behaviors such as a tendency to order, self-discipline, and being results-oriented.
Professional sports are highly structured and require the athlete to adapt to their demands. According to a bibliographic review published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine and Sciences, responsibility is positively related to the practice of physical exercise. Furthermore, they note that this trait is essential to achieve a high level of performance.
To reach the elite, it’s important for the athlete to be an organized, disciplined, and committed person with the sport and its values.
They’re able to withstand high levels of stress
Professional athletes have to endure numerous stressors throughout the season. Their ability to train and compete under such high levels of stress is amazing.
It’s true that people easily become used to everyday stress, but this doesn’t mean that there are no health consequences. Putting yourself under a lot of pressure for long periods can lead to psychological disorders such as depression or anxiety.
It’s important to note that not all athletes have the same stress tolerance. This trait can make the difference between reaching the top and quitting the sport.
Their level of self-efficacy is higher
Self-efficacy is the personal belief that a person is capable of carrying out a behavior successfully. This construct is closely related to self-confidence, in such a way that many psychologists say that they’re the same.
High-performance athletes believe in their abilities. They’re not scared of obstacles and are able to organize their personal resources more effectively to overcome problems.
Regarding this, a study published in RETOS Magazine established a positive relationship between self-efficacy and sports performance. This means that a high level of self-efficacy of the athlete corresponds to a higher level of performance and better sports results.
Learning from the mentality of high-performance athletes
To reach the sporting elite, it’s not enough to have outstanding physical characteristics. You also need to have a trained mind, capable of adapting and overcoming any unforeseen event.
You can apply these high-performance sports traits at a lower level. After all, those psychological variables are associated with athletic success at any performance level. The only thing that changes is that, while in their professional sport they’re essential, in an amateur sport they’re desirable.
Finally, we should note that becoming part of the sporting elite is a long process that not only depends on having special characteristics related to mentality but also in training your body and mind.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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Amoedo, N. A., y Juste, R. P. (2016). Evaluación de la autoeficacia y de la autoestima en el rendimiento deportivo en Judo. Retos. Nuevas Tendencias en Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación, (29), 109-113.
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García-Naveira, A., y Ruiz-Barquín, R. (2013). La personalidad del deportista: una revisión teórica desde la perspectiva de rasgos. Revista Internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte/International Journal of Medicine and Science of Physical Activity and Sport, 13(51), 627-645.
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Ortega, F. Z., Fernández, S. R., Extremera, M. O., Sánchez, M. C., Cuberos, R. C., y González, M. D. M. C. (2017). Análisis de la resiliencia, ansiedad y lesión deportiva en fútbol según el nivel competitivo. Cultura, ciencia y deporte: revista de ciencias de la actividad física y del deporte de la Universidad Católica de San Antonio, 12(35), 135-142.