One of my primary sources of research for mental toughness comes from sport psychologists Sheldon Hanton, Graham Jones, and Declan Connaughton. The title of their research is “A Framework of Mental Toughness in the World’s Best Performers“. The authors do an excellent job putting rigor around the definition of mental toughness. Their analysis concludes that […]
I have a simple warning for parents and coaches of athletes who struggle with mental toughness or confidence problems. Just like most problems, mental toughness and confidence problems don’t solve themselves. In fact, they get worse with time. If you see a young athlete in middle school having problems with mental toughness or confidence, it’s […]
When an athlete is struggling with mental toughness, I suggest you start with the six attributes that define how a mentally tough athlete trains. One of these six attributes is the ability to avoid “wishful thinking “. The research shows that mentally tough athletes avoid wasting time on being unrealistic like the plague. Instead, these […]