Sports Psychology on dealing with pressure

This is an excerpt from Tim Grover's column in Yahoo, discussing how some players just can't make free throws.

What's amazing is it can be applied to anything in our life when we're dealing with stress or a high amount of pressure.


"If you're never forced to perform under pressure, how can you ever learn to cope with pressure?"

...

"Pressure is a privilege. Embrace it, don't fear it. What I can't do is give you drills or routines to calm yourself. That's an internal process only you can develop, and you can't develop it if you're thinking about missing free throws.

Ideally, I don't want you thinking at all. Thinking turns your thoughts ON to everything; we want to turn those thoughts off. Not easy. As soon as someone says, "Don't think about it," all you can think about is not thinking. Now you've doubled the pressure.

If you have to think about something to keep yourself cool, let it be a mental routine that keeps you focused on something positive: your kids, a great memory, a song you hear in your head. Something that brings you back to who you used to be before everyone started pressuring you to be something different … something that allows you to control your space, reconnect with your instincts and refocus your energy from fear to confidence."

Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/news/why-some-nba-players-just-can-t-make-free-throws-234333603.html

Thinking of pressure as a privilege flipped a switch in my thinking about it. Not everyone gets the experience, and you get a chance to master yourself even more. 




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