The Stoic Mindset Athletes Need to Prevail Under Pressure and Stress
Life as an athlete can often feel like a pressure cooker. As athletes, you confront stress daily, from the challenges of rigorous training to the high-stakes environment of competition. Today let me provide you with guidance to find wisdom from a somewhat unexpected place: the wisdom of Vice Admiral James Stockdale, a decorated U.S. Navy officer, and well-known practitioner of Stoic philosophy. He once observed:
“Stress is essential to leadership. Living with stress, knowing how to handle pressure, is necessary for survival. It is related to man’s ability to wrest control of his own destiny from the circumstances that surround him or, if you like, to prevail over technology.”
James Stockdale
The Stoic Approach to Pressure and Stress
1. Stress is essential to leadership.
Let’s unpack Stockdale’s statement: “Stress is essential to leadership.” For athletes, leadership often emerges when pressure is highest. Whether you’re a team captain or a solo competitor, you’re leading your own physical and mental journey. Embracing stress as a fundamental part of this journey allows us to grow as individuals, teammates, and leaders. It provides an opportunity to discover our strengths, confront our weaknesses, and ultimately shapes our character.
2. Living with stress, knowing how to handle pressure, is necessary for survival.
Moving onto the next idea: “Living with stress, knowing how to handle pressure, is necessary for survival.” This concept is deeply rooted in the athletic world. Pressure, whether from competition or personal performance expectations, can be relentless. But by acknowledging its presence and learning to navigate it, athletes become more resilient. The development of coping strategies such as deep breathing, visualization, or maintaining a routine can help athletes manage the tension inherent in their pursuit of excellence.
3. You must wrest control of your own destiny from the circumstances that surround you.
In the third part of his quote, Stockdale refers to “man’s ability to wrest control of his own destiny from the circumstances that surround him.” It’s a call for agency and personal responsibility. As athletes, we can’t always control the circumstances of our games, matches, or races. But we can take command of our responses to these situations. It might be maintaining a positive attitude in the face of a poor performance or developing the perseverance to push through when the finish line seems miles away. By doing so, we learn to shape our destiny rather than being shaped by it.
4. Prevail over technology
Lastly, the concept of prevailing over technology may initially seem less applicable to athletics. However, consider ‘technology’ as the tools, techniques, or even societal pressures (including social media, traditional media etc.) that might sway our focus or beliefs about what we can achieve. Prevailing over this ‘technology’ means maintaining our authentic selves and true goals amid outside influences. It is in this space of self-understanding that athletes can truly leverage stress for success.
5. Stress is a vital part of your athletic journey.
In conclusion, Stockdale’s quote is a powerful reminder that stress, while daunting, is a vital part of your athletic journey. By embracing it, learning to manage it, taking control of your response to circumstances, and staying true to yourself, you can utilize stress to become a better athlete, more resilient, and a more effective leader. Remember, stress is not your enemy, it’s the forge in which the best version of you is made. Embrace it. Wrestle with it. Prevail.