In modern day sport, athletes are expected to manage themselves effectively in order to give themselves the best chance of performing well and/or winning. The mentally tough performer understands that pressure is in the eye of the beholder, and how they choose to interpret what is happening around them will dictate whether they respond successfully or not. Those that do become the Champions those that don't, don't
So like in sport we have to become mentally tough to be able to manage the situation and the people around us if we are going to be able to effective Mental Toughness Cancer Coaches
We are all aware of the importance of being “mentally tough” but very few understand the components that make up the mentally tough performer. Welcome to the 4 C’s of the mentally tough performer :
1) Control – under varying conditions they show the emotional control necessary to maintain or enhance their performance.
2) Commitment – They have the discipline, the desire, the dedication to succeed. They ensure that they prepare and work with intensity. As a result, they perform consistently well.
3) Challenge – They view difficult situations or circumstances as challenges rather than being threatening. They show resilience and are not easily knocked 'off balance' in the face of adversity .
4) Confidence – they have great belief in themselves. They demonstrate appropriate body language which suggests that they have the tools to perform and win.
Understanding these 4 simple yet critical elements will help you appreciate what needs to be done to help make someone mentally tough. Often people who are diagnosed with cancer (after the initial shock) come out fighting. When many people would expect there to be a negative response it is actually more common to see a positive one. "I am going to beat this", "I am going to fight this" are commonly used phrases and even those people, who in the past, may have been rather shy or timid become fighters. Our job as coaches is to harness that motivation, that thought, that energy and to put it to use in a structured and practical way to help maintain this level of 'fight'.
Easier said than done. So how do we do it
Goal Setting
Look at some simple short and longer term goals (bucket list) and commit them to paper then start planning ticking them off one by one.
Keep a positive diary.
At the end of every day try and write down 10 positive things that happened in your day. It doesn't matter how trivial they may seem. 10 positives are still 10 positives. This should be done just before going to sleep. The subliminal message will then continue to work throughout the night and help to start the next day in the right frame of mind.
Negative Situations.
Work out what might make someone be less positive or moving towards being depressed. Having done this quite simply avoid them wherever possible. It could be a place, a person, a movie, a song.
Trigger Points.
This is something that will help you shift your mind and emotions away from the negative situation to a positive one. Think of positive things in your life, occasions, parties, relationships, etc.... and replace the negative with a positive. Change that song ! some people even use physical triggers, an elastic band (or similar) which they 'twang' gently on their wrist when they feel they are going into a negative mood. This 'shock' acts as a kick start to getting back onto the positive path
These are just a few ideas and in the future I will expand on each one of these to give you more practical and effective tools to help you become a Mental Toughness Cancer Coach
So like in sport we have to become mentally tough to be able to manage the situation and the people around us if we are going to be able to effective Mental Toughness Cancer Coaches
We are all aware of the importance of being “mentally tough” but very few understand the components that make up the mentally tough performer. Welcome to the 4 C’s of the mentally tough performer :
1) Control – under varying conditions they show the emotional control necessary to maintain or enhance their performance.
2) Commitment – They have the discipline, the desire, the dedication to succeed. They ensure that they prepare and work with intensity. As a result, they perform consistently well.
3) Challenge – They view difficult situations or circumstances as challenges rather than being threatening. They show resilience and are not easily knocked 'off balance' in the face of adversity .
4) Confidence – they have great belief in themselves. They demonstrate appropriate body language which suggests that they have the tools to perform and win.
Understanding these 4 simple yet critical elements will help you appreciate what needs to be done to help make someone mentally tough. Often people who are diagnosed with cancer (after the initial shock) come out fighting. When many people would expect there to be a negative response it is actually more common to see a positive one. "I am going to beat this", "I am going to fight this" are commonly used phrases and even those people, who in the past, may have been rather shy or timid become fighters. Our job as coaches is to harness that motivation, that thought, that energy and to put it to use in a structured and practical way to help maintain this level of 'fight'.
Easier said than done. So how do we do it
Goal Setting
Look at some simple short and longer term goals (bucket list) and commit them to paper then start planning ticking them off one by one.
Keep a positive diary.
At the end of every day try and write down 10 positive things that happened in your day. It doesn't matter how trivial they may seem. 10 positives are still 10 positives. This should be done just before going to sleep. The subliminal message will then continue to work throughout the night and help to start the next day in the right frame of mind.
Negative Situations.
Work out what might make someone be less positive or moving towards being depressed. Having done this quite simply avoid them wherever possible. It could be a place, a person, a movie, a song.
Trigger Points.
This is something that will help you shift your mind and emotions away from the negative situation to a positive one. Think of positive things in your life, occasions, parties, relationships, etc.... and replace the negative with a positive. Change that song ! some people even use physical triggers, an elastic band (or similar) which they 'twang' gently on their wrist when they feel they are going into a negative mood. This 'shock' acts as a kick start to getting back onto the positive path
These are just a few ideas and in the future I will expand on each one of these to give you more practical and effective tools to help you become a Mental Toughness Cancer Coach
