When you are afraid of making a mistake, where is your mind?
Is it in the past, present, or future?
Well, to figure that out, let’s examine what it is you’re afraid of. Are you afraid of something that has happened?
Possibly. If you are afraid of it happening again.
Are you afraid of what is happening right now? If you are, it’s likely you’re afraid of what will happen as a result of messing up whatever it is you’re doing right now.
Are you afraid of what will happen in the future? Maybe what will happen if you make a mistake and let your team down, for example?
Fear of failure is caused by you thinking about the consequences of making a mistake. Consequences that live in the future…and are fueled by past experiences.
Fear of failure in sports cannot survive in a mind based in the present moment. Which is where mindfulness comes to the rescue.
Mindfulness & Fear of Failure
Mindfulness refers to the state where your attention is completely centered in the present moment. Your mind is here, instead of being in the past or future.
There was a college basketball player I worked with who experienced a lot of fear. Before games, he thought about everything that could go wrong. Including missing shots, embarrassing himself, and getting benched.
Adding further fuel to his fear were past negative experiences. Times when he’d played poorly before and suffered the consequences. The more he thought about bad games in the past, the more he feared having another bad game in the future.
This cycle continued game after game.
When you think about where his focus was pre game, was it ever in the present moment?
Very rarely!
His focus was either on past bad games or on what will happen in the upcoming game – the future.
His mind rarely remained in the present moment. And this was even true throughout a game. In the middle of competition, he still found himself thinking about what would happen next in a fearful way.
The more his mind left the present, the more fear he experienced. The more fear he experienced, the more he held himself back and played timidly.
How Being Present Reduces Fear of Failure
The basketball player’s mind was full of thoughts about the past and future. He remembered times he’d played poorly before, which resulted in him worrying about how the current game would go.
What he and I worked on, and got him to do, was let go of those past and future thoughts and keep his mind centered in the present.
But why is it that being present reduces fear of failure?
It all has to do with your attention. When we look at the cause of fear of failure in sports, the big factor that stands out is the consequence. What will happen if you make a mistake? That is where your true fear lies.
That consequence is something that will occur in the future: as a result of the mistake. It is not something you are currently experiencing. Fear is present due to what you are imagining will happen.
Now, the consequences may be very real. For example, coach may make you run during practice for all the mistakes you make during a game. That consequence is real.
However, in the moment you are experiencing fear, the consequence is nothing more than a thought. An imagined future that will take place. You aren’t currently running your sprints at that moment.
Fear of failure lives in our minds. Specifically, it lives in our thoughts about the future.
If we can take away our thoughts about the future by becoming present, fear is eliminated.
Instead of thinking about past mistakes and worrying about how the game will go, the basketball player learned how to be present. How to recognize unhelpful thoughts and bring his attention back into the here and now.
That is the essence of developing the skill of mindfulness. You gain the ability to keep your mind here, rather than having your mind shoot from past to future and allow fear to develop.
To eliminate your fear of failure, you must become mindful. Becoming mindful happens through the use of a pregame mindfulness exercise.
Using Mindfulness Training to Manage Fear of Failure Before Games
Since we know that the more you think about the past and future, the stronger fear of failure becomes, your goal is to keep your mind present going into games.
There are many tools you can use to do so. But one I have seen the most success with is mindfulness meditation.
Practicing mindfulness meditation for five minutes or so before a game begins grounds your mind in the present. Making it easier for you to remain present with your attention throughout the game.
Here’s how to practice mindfulness meditation pregame:
- Get into a comfortable seated position with your back straight.
- Set yourself a timer for five minutes.
- Close your eyes and begin taking nice, deep breaths.
- Focus your attention on your breathing.
- When you begin to think about anything other than your breathing, notice that and then return your focus onto your breath.
- Repeat this process over and over, continuing to try and focus on your breath, until time is up.
Now, think about the idea of noticing when your attention drifts away from your breath and onto a thought. What did I say you need to do then? You must notice that and then return your attention onto your breath.
That is exactly what you want to begin doing during games. When you notice yourself thinking about the past or fearing the future, quickly return your attention to the present.
This can be done by focusing on your breathing during the game, or by focusing on whatever it is you are doing in the moment.
The bottom line is, when you notice your attention drifting away from the present, return it as quickly as possible. This minimizes the increase of fear that stems from thoughts about the past and worries about the future.
Final Thoughts
Fear of failure in sports is driven by thoughts about what will happen if you fail. The consequnces of failing weigh heavily on your mind and lead to timid and scared play.
These future thoughts are often fueled by memories of bad games from the past.
When your mind is present, however, fear of failure reduces. Which means, if you want to reduce fear of failure during a game, your goal needs to be to keep your mind present.
To keep your mind present, use mindfulness meditation for at least five minutes pre game. Then, during the game, notice when your attention has drifted into the past or future, and return it as quickly as possible to the present.
Thank you for reading and I wish you the best of success in all that you do.
