Performance and improvement can sometimes feel like a linear process. You put in the time and effort consistently as a means to get closer to achieving your goals. It can be easy to get caught up demanding greatness from yourself based on the performance you last had. However, this dynamic can often hinder, instead of enhance, your performance. You are not as good or bad as our last game or training session. You operate within a range of performance.

The seventh Essential is learning to Handle Adversity. Adversity is actually one of the things that makes us love sport! It’s always thrilling to watch or be the athlete that overcomes adversity, or makes a comeback. It’s why we always cheer on the Cinderella story in sport. The greatest athletes are not the ones that never fail, they are the ones that recover the fastest.

The sixth Essential is learning to Adjust and Be Flexible. No matter the sport, every athlete has a game plan, a strategy for how they are going to approach their competition so that they can achieve their goals. Just like you have a game plan for what you are going to do on the field or court, you need to have a mental plan for how you are going to deal with the mental challenges that may come up.