to control it. When I say control it, I mean understand it, listen to it, and most importantly, use it.
When you do those things, it can lead to extraordinary things. Although it can help you
remember things, it can also shut down. Comparable to a machine, it operates and controls but
breaks down when so much is thrown at it with no help. These words are intended to
embrace another outlook on mental health and athletes. Mental health can make or break an
athlete. Clouded thinking, unfortunate circumstances, and the future are some of the biggest
reasons why an athlete’s mind is more than what you think it is. There is more to sports
than just playing and succeeding. The more competitive levels you play at, the more you are
vulnerable to experiencing life-altering hardships. The level of mental toughness that people have or
lack is tested daily. Sports is more than just physical ability; arguably, it is about 10%
physical and 90% mental. Well, honestly, the mental aspect has a tendency to be the
“forgotten side” of sports.
From personal experience, I have come across battles with mental toughness countless times and will continue to do so. However, I think I have embraced my hardships, and that has left the ability to become mentally tougher.
There’s a specific feeling that engulfs your mind from time to time. You feel like you have
conquered every challenge, only being so close to achieving what you have been dreaming of,
then suddenly feeling unadorned. It’s hard to fully explain these exact feelings
because it’s not just one emotion. Ultimately, it’s every “negative” emotion plus some more, all mixed. As much as one tries to believe in remaining optimistic or positive, the urge to let one’s mind wander to countless places submerges the mind.
As previously said, the mind is a powerful thing; whatever you tell it,it believes. Every athlete is just as different as the sport that they play, but the one thing that they may have in common is how big the mental aspect is in
an athlete’s life. It is basic human nature to overthink and worry, especially when it comes to performance or whatever the case may be as an athlete. An immense amount of blood, sweat, and tears goes into the sport you play, and sometimes it looks like you’ve never played before. Little bumps in the road lead to major rainy clouds in the mind, becoming a domino effect. I’ve learned that the longer you let your worries or problems linger, the harder it is to dig
yourself out of that hole. Eventually, you’ll never be able to come back from it until you make a
change.
As an athlete, you go through so many emotions, whether they are positive or negative. You learn so many life lessons that carry on to your everyday lives. Sometimes, things don’t always work in our favor but as more time goes on, you can understand that things happen for a reason. Positive or negative, there is a reason for everything. Unfortunate circumstances happen constantly; sadly, they take a toll on the mind. Some of those circumstances lead to
athletes having an identity crisis. Many struggle to find purpose in life and constantly ask themselves “Who am I?” Nobody ever talks about these detrimental crises athletes go through. There is no instruction manual and no warnings.
