Ready to level up your game?!
Mental Skills Toolkit:
pressure, expectations & comparison culture ;
How to not just survive in this environment, but THRIVE
Many of the things that come with lack of self-belief (inner criticism, perfectionism, fear of failure, overthinking, self-doubt, etc.) are all shared experiences that show up for soccer players as a result of the pressure, expectations and comparison culture that have all become a part of the elite, youth, competitive sports world that we are immersed in. All of this stuff is HARD and difficult to manage. Left unchecked, it can take a toll on a player’s performance, their confidence, and their overall wellbeing and mental health.
Players, your worth as a person does NOT come from your ability to achieve a certain outcome on the soccer field. You are MORE than a soccer player and finding your authentic passion and drive requires embracing the imperfect nature of the game and the imperfect nature of yourself.
‘Being perfect’ is an illusion that is not achievable by anyone. It’s a delusion that traps us in never-ending feelings of inadequacy and failure. Since ‘being perfect’ isn’t possible, we will always fall short of our impossibly high (unrealistic) expectations and leave the field feeling bad about ourselves, everyday! Unless we change things. The key to shifting toward a healthy striving mentality is self-awareness and an honest willingness to challenge our limiting beliefs and focus on what we can control. You deserve to enjoy yourself on the soccer field again – let’s make it happen.
