The only limitations are those created in your mind.  If you could train your mind, you’d soon discover you really have no limitations.  That’s the power of mental toughness – it’s not faking it or forcing it in order to show a brave face, but rather developing the skills to push past any limitation you might create.

Stop creating limitations, instead create mental toughness.

Today I’m sending a different sort of email – usually I provide you with some tip or trick or insight to elevate your mental toughness, today I’m asking for your assistance.

I want to introduce you to a movement that has been started by a community of elite athletes for athletes, with the goal to ‘Psych out the Stigma’ of Mental Health in Sport.

Just last week we learned of a 15 year old high school athlete who committed suicide. This past spring, a a female athlete was told by her doctors that she had to stop playing for fear of a heart attack brought on by her anorexia.  And that’s only 2 athletes of millions across Canada.

Student athletes are the 3rd most likely population to commit suicide and 20-30% of athletes are recorded to be dealing with mental health issues like eating disorders, obsessive compulsiveness, depression, financial concerns, and addictions.  Yet the message is loud in clear in sport: ‘Be Tough’ and ‘Suck It Up!’ – So we often suffer in the dark.  If nothing changes, if we don’t step in, many athletes will continue to suffer in silence, abuse their bodies, and take their lives.

Now’s the time for us to ‘Psych out the Stigma’ of Mental Health in Sport.

4 ways you can help:

1. You can like our Facebook page.

2. You can share this email and the corresponding blog with every athlete you know, so we can open up the discussion and get more people involved.

3. You can send us an email with your story about how Mental Health has impacted your sporting career – whether that be personally, because of a teammate, or coach or family member.

4. You can take part in any of our upcoming events (stay tuned as we release more events in the future)

My own story in a nutshell

In 2001 I had the awesome opportunity to train and compete with the Canadian Senior National Volleyball Team in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The plan was that I would train for 9 months, take the Christmas holidays off, then return to my University of Ottawa Gee-Gees team for the second half of the season; but, that’s not what happened.

I’ll be honest, training was tough and I was really hard on myself.  I was homesick and couldn’t bring myself to get really close with any of the other athletes.  We had a busy training schedule: training 6 times per week, sometimes 3 times a day when you included our weight workouts.  By the end of the 9 months, my knees were shot and I was physically fatigued.

However, I didn’t want to let down my Gee-Gee team, and in fact I wanted to impress everyone when I returned to the team, so instead taking my Christmas month off, I trained even harder, lifted more, and push myself to my breaking point.

It all broke when I returned to Ottawa.  I couldn’t bend my knees past 25 degrees, and I was in great pain every time I played. Our team was in first place before I returned, and we didn’t make play-offs after I returned.  All of the pressure and burn out got to me, and I found myself crying after every practice.  But I didn’t tell anyone.  I kept it all to myself because there was no room in sport for me to share.  I am almost quit volleyball that year, but with rest I was able to come back.  I never want to be back in that dark place again, and I know it would have been so much easier had the stigma of mental health not been looming over my head.

I don’t want any athlete to ever have to deal with this – I want the Stigma to End!

Our Inaugural Event – SUP with the Stigma

We are inviting all former and current National Team, Professional, Varsity, and all other athletes, and their supporters to join us in our inaugural event ‘SUP with the Stigma’ to be held during the Pan Am Games in the GTA.  At this event, we will combine a round-table discussion (about mental health: how it has affected our teammates and ourselves and what we can do about it) with a fun Stand Up Paddle Board Challenge on Lake Ontario (exact location TBD, most likely in the West Toronto beaches). The event will be fun and FREE … and probably competitive too, since we are all elite athletes!  You don’t have to have personally dealt with mental health issues yourself, we just ask that you be open to transforming the stigma along with us.

Our proposed dates for our first event are July 20, 23, 27, or 30th. . . Please reply to [email protected] by Wednesday July 1st with the date(s) that work best for you. We will then choose the date that’s best for the most athletes.

By Kara Zakrzewski, Chief Mental Toughness Coach

It’s easy to get side-tracked by whatever comes across your path – There are many bright lights, and fun ideas, and opportunities in every given moment.  You can live life like a feather in the wind – just blowing where the wind takes you – or you can intentionally create your life. I choose the latter.

Achieving your goals requires discipline, not only on the field, court, stage, etc. but in every area of your life.  How you do one thing is how you do everything, and that habit will trickle into your performance where it matters most.  Do you keep your room keep? Are you on top of your bills and assignments? Are you managing your nutrition?

Yes, discipline is required everywhere to be your best athlete or performer.

Now here’s the interesting thing about discipline: It’s not about doing what you want in the moment necessarily, but rather it’s about taking the action that’ll best set you up to achieve your goal.

Let me show you what I mean then I’ll give you some Toughness Training so you can train the habit of discipline this week . . .

I just got back from a 2 week trip to California where I delivered Mental Toughness Workshops to over 200 athletes and parents.

And let me tell you, the beach was calling the whole time I was there. It was saying: ‘Just cancel the workshop, and come bathe in the sun’.

There was one workshop in particular where I wanted to just stay at the beach (I had taken my office to the beach that afternoon).  Instead I chose to be disciplined and drive myself over to Culver City to do what I REALLY wanted to do (not just to follow my urge in the moment which was not in line with my true goal).  You see, I’m really committed to exposing every athlete in the world to Mental Toughness Training, both to elevate their performance and also to give them great joy and peace of mind in their pursuit.  When I got connected to my true commitment, my true goal, it was easy for me to leave the beach (although the beach was what I wanted at that very moment).

So, like it is said the quote above: Discipline is literally choosing between what you want now and what you most most (your goal).

Your Toughness Training for this week:

I’m going to give you 3 steps to follow this week to train the habit of discipline.  They might seem easy, but the third one especially is not. Let’s see how you do with this :D.

1. Get Connected to your Ultimate Goal 

What do you want and why do you want that?

2. Observe your Discipline

When do you sell out on your Ultimate Goal to do whatever tickles your fancy in the moment?

3. Choose Discipline

When you notice you’re not being disciplined, choose discipline instead.  For example, when you leave your room without making your bed, stop and make your bed.  It sounds like a small thing, but the more you train discipline in EVERY area of your life, the more you’ll groove this habit in your brain.  And with greater discipline comes greater success.

by Ayanna Sealey, Mental Toughness Coach

Picture this:

You are on the field, on the court, on stage or wherever your performance domain is. Suddenly you hear a crack or a pop and you are met with the worst pain of your life. You have just experienced what most performers fear the most- a life-altering, and perhaps career-ending injury. Suddenly, you are swirling with thoughts of:

“What’s next?” or “Who am I if I am not (insert type of athlete or performer here)?”

As an athlete or performer, so much of your identity has been wrapped up in your sport or performance domain of choice.  You rarely think of what you would do if things were to end, which is probably a good thing while in the midst of high level performance!

However, the truth is that the vast majority of athletes and performers will not be able to perform at an elite level for their entire lives. Some start off in their sport or in the performing arts as young children and end their careers in their late teens, whereas others become really serious in their teens and perform into their late 30’s or 40’s.

For each person the journey is different, but most athletes and performers must face what can be an extremely frightening point in their careers: Retiring either due to injury or due to the diminishment of excellent results.  They are then forced to walk away from their goals and dreams, which can feel like a great loss or let down, at times almost like part of them has died.

So, the question becomes: When faced with this daunting decision, what can you do to cope?

1)  Allow yourself to grieve:

This can indeed feel like a loss, so allow yourself to feel all that you are feeling. Seek out support, whether that is from family, friends, or by speaking to a sports psychology professional.

2)  Reach out to others who may have experienced something similar:

Going through a potentially career-ending experience can feel pretty scary and isolating. Therefore, it is important to know that you are not alone and even that others have gone through something similar before. Speaking to others who are either going through or who have gone through this type of transition can be both comforting and a positive resource of what actions you might take next.

3) Accept:

Even the most tenacious and persevering person may have to face the fact that no amount of treatment or therapy will get them back to the point that they once were. Accepting what’s next for you (even if you would like it to be different and wish it weren’t so) will aid in the process of discovering what the next step is for you.

4) Align yourself with other interests or other talents that you possess:

Quite often we define ourselves solely by our sport or performing domain of choice. When you explore your other interests (such as writing, coaching, or painting) you can then lean on them in these tough times.

5) Stay Positive:

Although this might be easier said than done, positive thoughts or mantras can help you discover a frame of mind in which you can create new possible avenues and dreams for yourself.

Transitioning to a new dream or new career can feel overwhelming, but it is not impossible and it can actually be fun!  Instead of thinking of all the negatives, resisting the transition, and wishing it were different, if you can encourage yourself to stay open, you may discover wonderful aspects of yourself that you never before knew existed that may now be expressed!

by Heather Cribbin, Mental Toughness Coach

I know, you’ve heard it many times before, but it’s hard to believe right? I mean, how can you, as a competitive athlete, or a high performer of any kind, actually take on the old adage that “Failure is the best teacher”. Reeeeally?

I was a typical 14-year-old girl, pretty darn athletic, but well, you know…My older boy cousins spent a month at their cottage every summer, and this was our annual weekend pilgrimage. I was both looking forward to it, and dreading it, with predictable 14-year-old angst.

The water was glassy, and my uncle shouted, “The ski gods are calling!”

“Ladies’ first,” they teased.

With a low rumble the boat pulled away from me as I floated on two skis, staying level until the perfect moment.

“Hit it,” I yelled.

The motor roared and the boat leapt ahead, the force pulling me out of the water effortlessly. Almost immediately, I gingerly slipped my right foot out of the neoprene binding and into the rear location on the back of the slalom ski! Despite a wobble, I was triumphantly upright. Gradually I worked my turns out of the wake, looking pretty darn fantastic I told myself. “My cousins will be impressed,” I mused.

My Uncle’s feedback took the self-satisfied grin off my face. He said to me, “IF YOU DON’T FALL, YOU’RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH.”

Whaaaaat?

Failure is Necessary

Passion is an essential ingredient to learning. Passion causes your brain to wire what it’s doing, and to do so stronger with every lesson. When we’re taking risks, walking a fine line between succeeding and failing, we’re engaging our passion. Whether we succeed OR whether we fail, we have an opportunity to harness passion, and have it contribute to the growth and training that we desire.

So get out there, live on the edge, swing out, play your biggest game. Don’t be afraid of failure or mistakes, as that fear is what will make you tentative and less passionate. Obsessing with looking good and/or training within your comfort zone will NOT get you the results you want. Embrace when things go sideways: Know that you are on the edge of your best learning and skill building when you make a mess of it.

Be reminded by your errors and failures that you are doing exactly what’s needed to lock in what it takes to be the best in your field! It’s necessary to be on the edge of your ability to push yourself to the next level that will lead to your success.

That’s what we mean when we say “failure is necessary!”

By Ayanna Sealey,
MTI Mental Toughness Coach

As I watched this year’s Toronto Blue Jays Home Opener, I was struck by the fact that we were able to win both the New York Yankees’ and the Baltimore Orioles’ home openers. As it turned out, we lost our own home opener at the Rogers Center. Now, there is no hard and fast rule which says that a team WILL lose their home opener and these may have all been coincidences. However, it made me wonder if there were any major factors that could increase the likelihood of a team losing on their home turf in the first game of the year.

I was reminded of being a professional performing artist, with the memory of us standing in the wings on an opening night. I remember all the hours of rehearsal and all the preparation that we had endured. It was winding down and soon we would be able to show the world our work. Even though in sport, unlike in the theater, you play in many different venues and against many different teams, I would liken the performer’s opening night experience to athletes playing on their home turf for the first time of the season.

Here’s what I saw that might affect both performing artists and athletes on their ‘opening night’:

They might experience a greater abundance of nerves and excitement since the audience, such as media, or friends and family, are familiar to them and are in attendance specifically to watch them perform.
They could be more distracted and would have to divide their attention between these home-turf distractions and expectations of pleasing the home crowd.

As a result, for the home team, what is usually deemed as “normal” nerves could possibly be heightened in this occasion.

What can the athlete or performing artist do to combat opening night nerves:

Become aware: For starters, in these opening night moments it is important that the athlete or performing artist become aware of the unique challenges that this type of situation presents. This awareness can help athletes or performing artists to prepare in a different way than they would for the remainder of the playing season or for the rest of a show’s run.
Create a Pre-Performance Routine: This would include deep breathing, relaxation techniques, visualization, and/or focus exercises. These exercises are intended to slow down the performer’s heart rate and bring his/her focus back into the present moment, where performance can happen. It’s important you practice these exercises before practice/rehearsal sessions too, so you discover what works best for you.
Give yourself extra prep time: In the case of an opening night or a home opener, lengthening regular pre-performance practices or perhaps adding other exercises, such as mindfulness meditation could be helpful.
Shake off the nerves: If sitting still does not work well for you, then perhaps try “shaking off the nerves” by jumping around, shaking out your arms and your legs, and even screaming some sort of war cry; something slightly more physical could work to remove your nerves as well.
TTYL: It’s also important to set your boundaries with your friends, fans, and the media on opening night by saying, ‘Talk To You Later (TTYL)’! Inform them that you have a very specific routine to prepare for your game/performance. Let them know when that will happen, and what you will do, so they don’t feel slighted and you don’t feel responsible for entertaining them. When you communicate your needs before, during, and after the game, you will find a huge weight lifted off your shoulders.

‘Opening night jitters’ are definitely unique as they happen only once a season. However, if athletes and performers pay careful attention to their needs on that day, create a specific pre-performance routine and are in communication with their friends and fans, then these jitters may be managed differently. This Mental Toughness training will then allow the focus to remain on the execution of the game or show, where it belongs.

As the snow is melting for those of us in Northern climates and as the days are growing longer, it’s time to come out of hibernation mode and kick it to the next gear of training (like the bear in this photo, lol!).  Even the most serious athletes can find it more challenging to get to the gym and give their full effort in the winter (yes, even those athletes I work with who are winter sport athletes have this same challenge too!).

So, this week’s Mental Toughness Tip is all about how you can use mental toughness training principles to motivate you to either increase the intensity of your training now that the weather is cooperating or how to get yourself back into training again.

I was interviewed for an article entitled “Mind Over Matter: Get Your Head In The MTB Game” by About.com’s resident Mountain Biking Expert Beth Puliti’on what it takes to get yourself back to full training after the winter.  Whether you’re a mountain biker or not, these mental toughness principles are universal and can be applied to various areas of your game.  

In this article I unveiled my top 5 strategies to bring your performance to the next level after the winter.  So click on the link to discover how you too can use the power of your mind to up your performance this spring.

To read the article and bring your performance to the next level, click here.

Recently, a reporter asked me the following questions for an article she was writing.  I thought I’d give you a sneak peak into my take on anxiety and what you can do about it.

What does anxiety mean? What happens to our body when we experience it?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines anxiety as:

"An abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it”.

This physiological response is often known as ‘fight or flight’, and it serves a very valuable purpose.  If you think about it, back when our caveman ancestors had real and looming threats – like the saber-toothed tiger – around every corner, it was imperative they had a physiological reaction that operated like clockwork to get them out of danger.

However, in modern days we do not have the same threats as we did in caveman days.  When we do, our fight or flight mechanism can often save our lives. Yet, oftentimes the threat we’re anxious about isn’t even real, but instead made up in a persons’ mind.

When I work with my clients, I refer to these future concerns, doubts, and fears as the ‘What ifs”: What if I fail? What if I can’t do it and everyone finds out? What if I embarrass myself? What if I get fired? What if, what if, what if . . it can go on forever and ever.  And when you’re focused on your what ifs, you are actually distracted from reality.  You start to think that these ‘what ifs’ are real: it’s like whatever future concern or fear you’re thinking about is happening to you right now.  So you succumb to your concerns, doubts and fears in the same way that if there was actually a saber-toothed tiger in front of you.  It feels the same, the same fight or flight mechanism is triggered in your body, and your anxiety rises (often exponentially).

But there is no saber-toothed tiger, the threat isn’t actually present, so the question becomes: How can we calm ourselves down when an anxiety attack hits (and it can feasibly hit multiple times per day in a normal person, especially if you’re concerned about something you deeply care about)?

What kind of situations lead us to anxiety?

Any situation can lead to anxiety, from not remembering to purchase that one ingredient that’s needed to make your grandmother’s famous soufflé only hours before 40 people are expected to descend upon your house to a big presentation that’s weeks away.  It is not so much the situation that causes the anxiety, but rather our mindframe about the situation.   In other words, the same situation could cause anxiety in one person and not another or might cause anxiety for you at one moment and not another – it’s all about how you think about it.

One thing I discovered when writing my thesis on the experience of anxiety in beach volleyball athletes at the 2012 Olympics was that those athletes who were less prepared experienced higher levels of anxiety.  To go back to caveman-times for a moment: If you were standing there with a saber-toothed tiger in front of you, it is obvious that you would feel much more anxious if you were there on your own, without any weapons and without a plan than if you had a group of cave-people surrounding the tiger, with a tiger-trap rigged up, and with bows and arrows ready to fire.  Preparation is key in dealing with anxiety.

Similarly, when something unexpected happens, your experience of anxiety is usually at it’s peak, again because there has been no opportunity to adequately prepare to deal with the situation.

Does technology play a role on that issue?

I think that technology can lead to anxiety depending on the users’ relationship with technology.  Due to modern technology, in their waking hours the users can have the experience of always being ‘on’ and connected – to work, to family, to the world.  When constantly connected to technology it is more challenging to be connected to yourself because the feedback is external in nature.  As a result, it is imperative that you spend even a little time away from technology each day to recharge your batteries.  The best way I know to do so is by adopting a mindfulness meditation practice.  Doing so is simple, but not easy: it’s simple because all it requires is for you to to take 5-15 minutes a various intervals throughout the day, close your eyes, disconnect from the world, disengage from your thoughts and focus inward into nothing while breathing deeply.  And, it’s not easy because you’re used to your thoughts and other messages bombarding us constantly throughout the day.

Try spending even 10 seconds without getting distracted by your thoughts of what you have to do. You’ll see how this simple task can be very difficult!

When is feeling anxious good for your health?

Anxiety is very important for us as human beings. It is part of the mechanism that keeps us safe.  We need anxiety, it’s part of our genetic make-up, and it’s not going to go away anytime soon (nor would we want it to).  In fact, in my thesis interview with 3x Olympian Kerri Walsh, she said she’s always anxious!  The trick is to accept that it is there and to identify times when you feel most anxious, then create a plan to deal with that.  In fact, I often tell my athletes that butterflies and nervousness is a good thing, because it shows them that they care about their pursuit.  When anxiety is good for your health is when you use it as a signal (kind of like a traffic signal) to cue you to how you are feeling, or to what might be awry in your surroundings.  So long as you don’t judge yourself or the anxiety experience, you’re ahead of the game and then you can go about dismantling any unnecessary anxiety feelings and otherwise enjoy the ride.  The fact that you’re anxious means that you’re ALIVE!

What are five tactics to control anxiety?

1.  Accept the Anxiety – Accept that you’re going to be anxious.  That butterflies are part of human existence.  That anxiety serves a valuable role in keep you safe and on your toes.  In fact, when I interviewed her for my thesis, 3x Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Walsh said she’s always anxious and that one of her tricks has been to accept that and to name her butterflies ‘Victory’.

2. Identify Your ‘What Ifs’ – Unless there’s a real threat right in front of you, most anxiety symptoms are caused by your thoughts about what might happen in the future.  The trick is to take 5 minutes to identify all of your possible ‘What ifs’ so that at least you are aware of what you’re concerned about so you can do something about it.  Make sure to write down all of your what ifs, even the silly ones.

3. Get Prepared –  Using your ‘What Ifs’ as a guide, create a plan of action for each of those what ifs, so if they do arise, you will be prepared to deal with them.  Create a plan for every eventuality you can think of, and you’ll notice your anxiety subside.  Even if you are faced with a situation you had not prepared for, all of your preparation will help you to be cool-headed in the moment.

4. Take a Breath – Anxiety happens when your mind races to future thoughts of what might or might not happen. There is no anxiety in the present moment, all there is is action and/or reaction.  Mindfulness training is a great way to get connected to the present moment  To get focused in on the resent, ask yourself: What’s one thing I have to do every moment or else I’ll day?  Yes, you have to breath.  So the trick to getting back present is to focus completely on your breath.  Take three deep breathes in and out, pausing for  three seconds at the top and bottom of each breath.  Feel every molecule of air filling all your cells and organs, and feel all your concerns, doubts, fears, and negativity exiting your body with your out-breath.  Not only will your heart rate decrease (also minimizing your anxiety symptoms) but your logical mind will return, able to deal with the situation at hand.

5. Train your Brain – Mental Training is no different than physical training in that the repetition of desired skills leads to the results that you want.  In the case of anxiety, mental training can support you in developing new brain patterns that help you to early identify your anxiety symptoms and cut them off before the get a hold of you.  Mental Training will also support you in developing proficiency in using tools to support minimizing anxiety symptoms when they strike.  We have a Mental Training App called ‘Get Psyched App’ available for free on the Apple App Store that has specific tools (including visualization and mindfulness training) to help you train your brain as well as many other mental training articles on our website.

GET THESE 5 TACTICS IN A FREE PRINTABLE PDF:
CLICK HERE

For Ella Douglas, winning silver on beam was not predictable or to be expected, especially not at Gymnix, Canada’s premier international gymnastics competition.  Over the last 2 years Ella has undergone two different surgeries: one on her shoulder about two years ago and another on her foot/ankle last summer.She had only been back to full-time training about one month ago, and she cannot remember the last time she trained without intense pain.