Bouncing Back

Mind of Steel

Bouncing Back

Dr. Christopher Stankovich

www.drstankovich.com

The ability to bounce back may be the greatest skill an athlete (or person) can learn to do. Your resiliency is your internal toughness that allows you to get up after tough losses, and it is the one common denominator found in all great athletes. Sure, it’s easy when things are going your way, but what do you do when things go wrong? Bad athletes give up immediately, average athletes battle this, but great athletes actually use failure as a teaching tool and use it to get better!

So lets look at the basics of athletic competition: Somebody will win, and somebody will lose. Furthermore, unless you have some special magical ability, you will lose at some point as you are human. Since we know losing is a part of life, the million dollar question then is how will you use losing when it happens in your life?

When you don’t play your best, you essentially have two choices: Either A) get angry and swear you will never play this game again, or B) take a step back, stay as positive as you can, and look for ways that you can learn from the experience so that you will play better tomorrow. Pool players who choose the second route will almost always grow by leaps and bounds, assuming they actually mean what they say!

Again, let me remind you bouncing back is not easy – if it were everybody would be a great athlete. Bouncing back requires discipline, focus, composure, respect, and patience. The good news is that you have the ability to do all these things, and you also have the ability to bounce back whenever you want to. While it may not be “that easy,” it is very possible, but only you can make this decision.

Below are a few more tips to think about when dealing with anger and adversity:

• Remember what I have written about in this article and how vital bouncing back is to pool success. Unless you work on this, going from an average player to great player will be very difficult – if not impossible.

• Writing things out can really help when it comes to adversity. Keep a journal and jot down all the things that make you angry – watch how effective this technique can be after you do it a few times.

• Find safe, effective ways to deal with stress. Obviously punching walls, using alcohol or drugs, or becoming verbally abusive are not healthy mechanisms!

• If you feel your emotions regularly get out of control, consider professional assistance. Many counseling professionals today can immediately help you control your anger and channel that energy into healthy and positive endeavors.

Learn how to bounce back quickly and watch your game go to new heights! Good luck!

Dr. Christopher Stankovich is a nationally acclaimed expert in Sport Psychology and the Founder of Advanced Human Performance Systems. For more information on performance-enhancement products, including the exclusive “Mind of Steel for Pool Success” and the world’s first Sport Performance Assessment for Pool, please visit www.drstankovich.com