Dr. Trujillo is a counseling and sport psychologist dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and organizations build awareness of self, others, and the world to reach their full potential in and out of their craft. She owns a private practice where she seeks to educate, consult, and provide mental health and sport psychology services that are evidenced-based and collaborative.
Paris 2024 is fast approaching! Even if you aren’t a sports fan, when the Olympics come around, most people find at least some aspects of one sport or another interesting enough to pay attention to. In my private practice, I am lucky enough to work with a handful of athletes at the peak of their competition schedules in pursuit of heading to France, with some having already punched their ticket! As a result, I have been having loads of conversations about mental preparation, mental routines, mental wellness, and peak mental performance strategies that will optimize performance and lead to victory.
The mind is a muscle that must be worked just like your biceps, abs, or quads. Although the methods may be quite different between the weight room and the mental strengthening space, all people can benefit from exercising the capacity to train both. Of importance to note, when I say train, I am not just talking about building undying confidence or “training” fear and anxiety out of you. I actually don’t subscribe to this outdated and harmful definition of mental toughness. Rather, I believe that athletes who can acknowledge the fear and anxiety, can be confident and also have doubts, and lean into their avoidance while balancing recovery and wellness in other areas of their life have the strongest chances of coming away with medals. This pursuit doesn’t come without uncertainty, disappointment, and even failure. How athletes handle setbacks inherent in the highest level of competition that exists for their craft sets the good athletes apart from the great ones. Don’t fret if you aren’t an elite athlete. Perhaps you are a high-powered business executive, a strong-willed manager, or perhaps you’re working on climbing the ranks to the highest credential in another field. Regardless of the career and/or hobbies you dedicate time to, there are universal pieces we ALL can focus on that teach us how to pivot or persist when disappointment strikes.
Before you read on, take a second to pause and reflect. What are your goals, and why do they exist? What do words like, “elite”, “success”, “persistence”, and “best” mean to you? How have you handled moments where you've had to change course or push through? What do you think separates those who try from those who make it to the highest peak of achievement?
Growth mindset
It’s important to recognize that even the best athletes in the world fail sometimes. Many have experienced not obtaining the standard they had hoped for or not making the cut they worked towards. They underperform at times, give in to distraction/temptation that prevents them from staying locked in, and get affected by external noise that is sometimes too hard to turn down. Thus, in my work, I spend a great deal of time talking about how to develop a stronger ability to bounce back and handle hard better in the face of defeat. Mistakes are inevitable, and the better equipped you are at processing them, the greater chance you have for success.
Elite athletes embody what it means to be growth-oriented.
If you have a growth mindset you
Believe your knowledge, skills, and abilities can be developed through dedication, hard work, and training.
Embrace challenges, pivot or persist through setbacks and see your efforts as a path toward mastery (even when outcomes are undesirable).
Value learning and the pursuit of excellence over innate talent.
Believe improvement can happen (with setbacks) over time.
Embody higher levels of motivation and resilience that lead to success over time.
Adopting a growth mindset can greatly benefit mental health by fostering resilience, reducing stress, and enhancing overall well-being. When individuals believe they can grow and improve, they are more likely to embrace challenges, persist through setbacks, and view failures as learning opportunities rather than as reflections of their self-worth. This adaptive outlook can reduce maladaptive thinking and behaviors, as it encourages a proactive approach to problem-solving and personal development. A growth mindset promotes a sense of agency and empowerment, leading to higher self-esteem and greater life satisfaction.
An athlete with a growth mindset will look at a mistake and take it as important feedback. They are curious and see opportunities where others may be turned off. They engage in the pursuit of learning and improvement. They problem-solve and lean into their disappointment, recognize what is in and out of their control, and stay committed to the process. They make adjustments that will lead to further growth, even if that means changing direction or having to unlearn habits or rethink strategy. They are still afraid, nervous, disappointed, etc., yet they lean into the avoidance and persist anyway. They know their why and they chase it, recognizing that they will do their best and have to come to terms with what happens after that.
Navigating the L’s in life
Here are a few strategies to help optimize your mental game keeping a growth mindset in focus.
Maintain a long-term vision
Successful elite athletes develop a skill of being able to zoom in and stay focused on this very moment, while also being able to zoom out and focus on long-term goals. This also allows them to see multiple aspects of their identity, and put things into perspective. A question we often play with in these circumstances is: Is it really that deep? The answer may depend. Regardless, they understand that opportunities are not finite and stay committed to the process.
Reframe thoughts, beliefs, and feelings
They view decisions and outcomes that bring disappointment as opportunities to improve and learn from, rather than definite failures or defining features of their identity. They pay attention to multiple parts of the story, not just one, and balance the evidence they have and the tools at their disposal to process loss and determine the best ways to proceed. They are willing to change their own minds and approach a problem from a different vantage point.
Leverage support networks
They are aware of trusted confidants, have a team of supporters around them who they can trust and rely on, and are able and willing to communicate their reactions, intentions, and aspirations in the here and now and for the future. They can take in feedback from others (desirable & undesirable) while also supporting teammates who may be in a different place than they are. They balance and accept their current role while also remaining hungry for goals not yet achieved.
Pivot and persist
If a dream falls out of reach, they allow themselves to feel. They demonstrate adaptability in creating realistic goals for the moment and recognize that the process of hard work and consistency may allow for further opportunities. They speak to and focus on what work can still take place to make them a contender for future competition. The “failure” doesn’t break their ability to try, or their sense of stability within themselves.
Now, think about your last L. How did you take it? What can you focus on more, or what can you change in some of your own approaches to think more like the best of the best?
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Natasha P. Trujillo, Ph.D., Counseling and Sport Psychologist
Dr. Trujillo is a counseling and sport psychologist dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and organizations build awareness of self, others, and the world to reach their full potential in and out of their craft. She owns a private practice where she seeks to educate, consult, and provide mental health and sport psychology services that are evidenced-based and collaborative. She works primarily with athletes, performers, and high-achievers to help them find balance in their pursuit of success and acceptance of their own humanity. She strives to help people learn how to simply “be”, and get better at what they do. She has specializations in grief/loss, eating disorders, trauma, anxiety, & identity development.
