As Arnold Palmer put it “Success in this game depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character.” Strength of mind is a good description for a Peak Performance Mindset. One of the things that contributed to Arnold Palmer’s success was his mental toughness or psychological resilience. This is one of the key elements of a performance mindset. The other key element is performance-supportive Mental Strategy Goals. The two are closely interwoven in peak performance.
Mental Toughness gets mentioned a great deal in sports talk, mostly by people without any training in psychology. Mental toughness is really referring to psychological resilience. Perhaps that is why there is no universal agreement on its definition. Although definitions vary, recognizing the play of a mentally tough athlete is fairly easy. Mentally tough athletes stay focused and determined in high-pressure situations, and maintain their composure during adversity. They consistently perform at or near full potential and make the shots we all love to talk about. I am sure you can call to mind a shot or two by Arnold, Tiger or Phil.
Let’s identify the primary elements of psychological resilience and the foundations for a performance mindset.
- The first element is self-control, the capacity to maintain composure and direct emotions, thoughts, and behaviors with precision. The key to this is control over self, not others. Trying to have control of the wrong things distracts many golfers’.
- The second element is confidence, a sustained sense of self-belief in your own abilities to achieve your desired outcomes that is stable in the face of adversity or glitches; especially dealing with the unexpected. Confidence is very different than arrogance.
- The third element is commitment, a tendency to have sustained positive intentions and an active role in self-improvement. Do you practice more than you play?
- Finally, the fourth element is challenge, a chance to demonstrate your abilities; a frame of mind that change, obstacles, learning, etc are opportunity for adventure, growth, & stimulation. I sometimes refer to it as the “no guts no glory” attitude.
When these characteristics are combined the mindset of the athlete creates strength for clam focus and sustaining performance in most situations. “Mentally tough athletes are people who have a high sense of self-belief and an unshakeable faith that they can control their own destiny and remain relatively unaffected by competition or adversity” ~ Clough.
You do not need to be a scratch golfer to be a mentally tough golfer. You can have a single digit handicap and still need to work on mental toughness. To develop a high level of psychological resilience look at what gets in the way of consistently combining these elements.