Fortitude Lessons From Sports Psychologists

 I read a piece in The Guardian yesterday which asked sports psychologists for tips on emotional resilience for people who are not elite athletes or sportspeople. Some of the lesson were fairly well-known--break-up big goals into smaller ones, positive self-talk, visualization. But, a less obvious one is thinking through all the possible outcomes of a nerves-inducing event. “I like to go through each consequence and put them to bed, so they’re not going over them in their minds when they need to focus. I’m always surprised that people don’t do this in real life – they just react to what is thrown at them.” I think that makes a lot of sense for overthinkers like myself who struggle if told not to think about something. When I am nervous about something, it often helps me to anticipate all possible outcomes and what I will do in each case. Instead of fixating on what might happen going one step further and thinking about what I will do if that happens. To think of possible solutions to possible problems. It often turns out the worst possible scenario is not that bad after all. And one can always change one's course of action. But, having a tentative plan helps me feel more prepared and in control. To be sure, I am talking of concrete problems and situations, else the list of possible things that could go wrong is endless. And, if one gets stuck in the loop of thinking about possible tragedies that are far-removed from one's current situation, one has to talk oneself back to rationality. I am proud to say that I have become much better at self-talk since the start of the pandemic. Reminding myself to breathe, talking to myself like a close friend would.