Success leaves clues and one of the often neglected areas in performance is mental training. Coaches may call it mental toughness, others may call it mental awareness, and even others call it Emotional Intelligence or EQ. Regardless mental training is a skill like striking a soccer ball, hitting a fastball, or maximizing your sprint technique – the more you practice the better you get. If is often confusing to me how we spend so much time on skill development and so little time on the mental side of training.
Don’t get me wrong, skill trumps most things in athletic endeavors and job performance but the intangibles of our self-image and whether we see problems or solutions often is what separates the good from great. In the previous article we discussed self-image being like a thermostat and you would gravitate to what expectations you set for yourself.
Another component of mental toughness is understanding whether you tend to be problem focused or solution focused. Jason Selk, a former sports psychologist for the St. Louis Cardinals, states “Talking about your problems will lead to more problems, not solutions. If you want solutions, start thinking and talking about your solutions”.
The number one reason mental toughness is so difficult is the tendency to become problem-centric thoughts (PCT). PCT is the exact opposite of Relentless Solution Focused (RSF). RSF is rare as most people are PCTs. It is more natural to think and focus on mistakes, the past, barriers, and what we don’t have instead of what we do have. It’s easier to think about problems such as not having enough money, success, not fast enough, strong enough, etc., than to acknowledge good fortune and abundance.
What does it really mean to be solution focused? Being solution focused means keeping your thoughts centered on what you want from life and what it takes to achieve what you want, as opposed to allowing thoughts of self-doubt and concern to occupy the mind. The difference between a solution focus and a relentless solution focus is how often you commit to replacing negative thinking with solutions.
Many sports psychologists feel that most people achieve solution-focused thoughts about 40% of the time. Individuals with a relentless solution focus replace 100% of undesirable thinking with thoughts emphasizing solutions.
Got a challenge in your life, on the field, in the classroom? ALWAYS have a solution on the board. Ask yourself “What is the one thing I can do that could make this better?” One thing! Not 72 or 483. Just one thing!
Don’t allow yourself to say “I don’t know what to do”. Come up with an answer to that question. It doesn’t have to be perfect – just one thing that moves you in the right direction.