The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis. Click Here to Order through Amazon
Recognize the Negative Dialog
Athletes with a pessimistic viewpoint have a running dialog that continually persuades them that they don’t honestly have enough talent, and if they fail, they will be criticized for trying. Many athletes invent an excuse or injury and avoid competition. By doing so, they keep their dignity and ego in check.
The following two solutions will help challenge the fixed mindset worrywart to consider adopting a growth mindset warrior attitude.
- Explain that Mindset Is a Choice
Their mental habit is to choose to interpret competition as a serious personal threat. Fixed mindset athletes are typically worried about what could and will go wrong versus what could and will go right. This pessimistic view tears down the will to give 100% effort. Changing from the fixed mindset to the growth mindset is challenging because the athlete has an onslaught of two simultaneous opposing demands. One is the need to suppress their pre-set, negative mental habit and two is to be open to learning to embrace the exact opposite viewpoint.
- Present the Opposing View
Fixed-mindset athletes need to be reminded that improving and growing requires a metamorphosis into a growth mindset. As these students ramp into tournament mode, be on high alert for their worry, stress, and fears to multiply. They view tournament competition as an event that will expose their shortcomings. It’s our job to present tournament play as a healthy way to assess their development necessary to obtain their goals.
Warning: Responding to and changing their negative banter is emotionally draining even for the well-equipped software developing coach.
Examples of a fixed mindset approach include:
Athlete: “I can’t play, my games not perfect yet. I’m not ready.”
Teacher: “Every time you compete, you learn and improve, and that is the goal.”
Athlete: “If I don’t compete I won’t fail, and I can keep my pride.”
Teacher: “The only true failure is being too scared to try.”
Training the stroke components is only the beginning of a world-class coach’s journey. Having the tools to develop the whole athlete is the end game.
- Religiously Spot the Positive
On practice days, I recommend applying the laws of attraction. Destroy their pessimistic point of view by asking them to say “yes” after performing a desired stroke or pattern of play. By doing so, it brings to light just how many good strokes they actually hit. This exercise combats their mental habit of focusing on the negative. Success starts by focusing on successes versus failures. It requires changing their doubt in their abilities because their doubt directly undermines their progress.
Once these pessimists see the progress in their abilities, they begin to show positive character traits and critical newborn life skills.
- Commit to Playing One Game
On match days, fixed mindset “red flags” are everywhere as they try desperately to self-sabotage their performance. By doing so, they’re building their arsenal of excuses for their ego out. “I would have won, but I didn’t have time to train.” “I could have won if I didn’t have this blister on my thumb.”
Also, typical with fixed mindset athletes is to try desperately to back out of competition the morning of the match.
The negotiation tactic I recommend is to ask them to enjoy their pre-match preparation and commit to playing at least one game. If the athlete still wants to default out after one game, that’s fine. Once in the match, they almost always see that the environment is not as threatening as they perceived. The opponent’s not as good as they imagined. So they play a few more games.
Teach my growth mindset philosophy: You have to be present to win. Opportunities and incredible victories present themselves if the athletes are willing to try.
