Defining Mental Toughness

Mental toughness is a process that every player and coach can use to effectively and efficiently improve skills AND consistently perform to the top level of your skill level no matter the circumstances. It’s all about developing the ability to consistently compete with 100% of what you have at this moment, no matter the personal or competitive adversity you might be facing.

Mental toughness is individual resilience and confidence to push past mistakes and remain positive and competitive. As a skill, mental toughness involves training and mental preparation for whatever challenge comes our way, allowing us to persevere through any adversities we face. It fuels confidence and execution under pressure. You develop mental toughness by developing strong habits of thinking, emotional management, and actions.

Examples of Being Mentally Tough

  • Self-Awareness – Self-awareness is the starting point for the change and growth that mental toughness is focused on. People who are self-aware are stronger mentally because they know how to deal with almost every circumstance and environment.
  • Emotionally Intelligent – Mental toughness relies on understanding strong negative emotions and transforming them into something productive. The better you know your emotions, the more you can be aware of their impact on your performance, and the easier it is to make positive changes.
  • A Positive Mindset – One thing that moves us forward is hope. If there is no hope or belief, there is no action and no results. A hopeful and optimistic mindset feeds confidence and makes it easier to perform under pressure
  • Desire to Grow – Curiosity and the willingness to figure things out make people stronger mentally. Read, experiment, learn, reflect. Successful people never stop learning, even from a defeat, and that’s exactly what makes them stronger.

How Do I Improve My Mental Toughness?

Own your development and own your performance by training your mental toughness in the same way you train your skills and conditioning… deliberately day after day for the season and throughout your career! Build your confidence and ability to play your best when it matters most under pressure!

Develop a Mental Preperation Process

Create your own mental preperation process for practices and games that will move you closer to your dream and mission. Planning, instead of hoping, and learning to focus on the right things at the right times will eliminate the worries, fears, anxieties, and obstacles that are a part of life and hockey.

Build Your Confidence and Perform Your Best Under Pressure

Every hockey player on the planet struggles with their confidence at times; it doesn’t matter what level of hockey you are playing. Your greatest challenge is to perform consistently and confidently in high-pressure situations. Get powerful solutions to improve your confidence and perform under pressure.

Understand & manage your emotions

Apply the same mental toughness strategies as elite hockey players and Olympians to manage your emotions and perform well under pressure. When managed properly, your emotions are valuable tools. Recognize unhelpful emotions, manage them, and redirect to powerful and productive thoughts that help you play to your potential when it matters the most.

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