If you grew up playing football, baseball, basketball, softball or basically any team sport you probably remember running laps in the gym until you puked or were expected to do so. Did your coach say things to you like – no pain no gain during hell week? Did you own a shirt that said “pain is weakness leaving the body”? For many years the predominant methodology for coaching was a suck it up, deal with the pain and move on mentality. If an athlete showed any weaknesses physically or mentally, they were typically benched or sent to do wind sprints. Many of us were told that the only acceptable outcome was to win, no matter the cost, and that failure or showing any sign of being vulnerable was not an option.
Fear and vulnerability are two of the factors that play a part in either enabling or deterring an athlete from reaching their true success.
Let’s talk about FAILURE -
The notion that being afraid to fail is self limiting is not a new concept. Many studies show that having the courage to fail leads to exponential growth. A recent shift in mentality from not wanting to fail to understanding that failure leads to growth has fully saturated our psyche, but what are you really doing to put this in place in your own life and athletic endeavors?
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan
It is ok to fail. But, it is NOT OKAY to not try.
When we allow ourselves the opportunity to show up and attempt the work, then we create two possible outcomes. One where we are amazed that we were willing and able to achieve success even when we thought we couldn’t or one where we knew that we gave it all that we could and came up with a different outcome than we might have intended.
Both scenarios are far more rewarding than not trying. Both scenarios make positive deposits in the training bank.
The option of skipping the work depletes the bank, more so mentally than physically. It deprives us of an opportunity to grow and get grittier.
Here are some ways in which we help our athletes incorporate into their training to foster grit.
~Evaluate your successes based on if you tried your hardest with the cards you were dealt on the day.
~Give yourself the freedom to fail. If your coach or training plan calls for a challenging workout, start it, embrace it, and learn from how you react to it when it gets tough.
~ Challenge yourself even if it is scary AF. Have you ever declined riding or running on a hilly course, because you were worried about how you would do? Can you embrace the growth that you are missing out on if you never take the hard path?
~ Do not leave failure for race day. Every time you complete a training session you have the opportunity to learn and grow, not only physically, but also mentally. Listen to how you speak to yourself when you are tired or your legs are just not showing up. There is no more powerful voice than your own when it comes to learning from or limiting growth.
Finally, if you haven’t already done so, treat yourself to the experience of reading Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth and take a deeper dive into all of the ways you can incorporate a growth mindset into your life and training.