This past week I was dealing with an athlete who felt a lot of pressure to perform.

She won a lot when she was younger, which was one set of pressure that she felt.

Then she felt the pressure to have to prove her parents right.

And on top of that, because she was so distracted by the anxiety she felt from having to perform, she started to perform poorly which made her feel even more pressure to have to do well.

Ugh.

Trust me, I’ve been through this before myself and it gets really exhausting, really fast.

So, I helped her get clear on what really mattered and helped her get to the root of what the real issue was: she didn’t trust herself.

All the noise that she was paying attention to pulled her away from doing what she did best: placing the ball where she wanted it on the court.

So, we had her get back to those strengths, focus on herself, and realize that the only way to accomplish anything was to do what she did best.

Here’s how we did it.

Step 1: Understand Pressure

Athletes feel pressure when they’re focusing on the things that they can’t control - which is often the case.

90% of the time, athletes are focused on their results, and although most people might tell you that you should be focused on this, they’re wrong.

You need to focus instead on the things you can control: your preparation, attitude, and work ethic.

Aka: the things that drive results.

When you focus on these, the pressure drops drastically because you end up focusing on your confidence and certainty, which is controllable, versus the uncontrollable results.

Step 2: Change the Meaning of Pressure

What you believe pressure to be, it’ll become.

Meaning: if you think pressure is something that’s bad, then it’ll be bad.

If you change the meaning of pressure though to being an opportunity to double down on your strengths, then it’ll become that.

Whatever meaning you give pressure, it’ll take on that meaning - so give it the meaning that we tell our athletes to: it’s just a reminder to get back to focusing on what you do best.

Doesn’t matter what pressure you feel, you can always solve it by focusing on what you’re good at.

So, ask yourself: what are 3 strengths that got me to where I am? What am I doing when I’m at my best?

Step 3: Get Clear on What You Don’t Trust

If you’re feeling pressure, it’s often times because you’re unsure of yourself or unsure of what to focus on.

Very simple put: all pressure can be resolved from focusing on building certainty behind your skills.

To do this, simply ask yourself: what’s causing me to feel unsure of myself? What skill am I not trusting?

Step 4: Put in The Work

Next, put in the work.

All that’s left to do is build trust in yourself.

To do this, do the following:

1. Visualize that skill daily

2. Practice that skill daily

3. Watch film on that skill daily

This is the fool proof system that works for every single one of our athletes.

Simply check out our YouTube channel and you’ll be able to find mental reps and how to do them for free.

Step 5: Change Your Behaviours

The last thing you need to do is change your behaviours.

You need to create a simple routine to follow to change what you’re focused on before games so that you can calm down.

Here’s what we like to follow:

1. 4 rounds of box breathing

2. Visualizing what you need to do in the game

3. Focusing on what to do in the game

It’s a simple process that’ll help you calm down and focus when the going gets tough.

Stay Resilient

And there you have it - this is how we help athletes manage their emotions. You deserve to reach your full potential - remember that.

Stay resilient,

Matt Caldaroni

Co-founder, Molliteum

P.S. if you want to work with us in any capacity, there’s 3 ways we can help you:

1 - TOGETHER with a Molliteum Coach (on an application base only)

2 - ON YOUR OWN with the Molliteum Pocket Coach

3 - FOR FREE on YouTube and on our Podcast