This week I started a series of posts outlining Dr. Alison Arnold's Five Rings of Mental Toughness. Arnold (see right) is the mental toughness coach for U.S. Figure Skating and she felt that an athlete with an "unshakeable mind" was essential to succeed in this very high-pressure sport.
The first ring she discussed was Awareness. The second ring is Vision.
One of the most important exercises to do in any mental toughness training program is creating the vision of the skater you want to be in practice and competition. How do you want to act when things are going well? How do you want to act when things are going poorly? What are your goals for the season? How about attitude goals? What characteristics do you want to embody at each practice?
Write a list of words describing the skater you want to be. Some examples include "motivated," "confident," "emotionally tough," "focused," "happy," "proud," "aggressive," "no holding back," "precise," "a leader" and "positive." Once you set your vision and goals, put them up somewhere you can see them every day or pick a "vision word of the day" that can help you stay on track. On a bad day, go back and re-read your vision. This will keep you motivated and focused on your goal.
Next up...Ring Number Three: Discipline
About Alison Arnold, Ph.D.
Doc Ali, as she is also called, is the Peak
Performance consultant to USA Women's Gymnastics, United States Figure
Skating, and Australian Aerial Skiing. Her She founded Headgames to help individuals, teams and companies achieve their potential through strengthening the mind. Most recently, she was on television as Scott Baio's life coach on VH1's "Scott Baio is 45...and Single."
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