A: It’s natural, even the best athletes doubt themselves at some point. You will likely have many people tell you that you won’t make it, you aren’t good enough, that you aren’t talented… believe me, it’s extremely tough to tune out and ignore, but you must ignore it!
To build mental toughness you must commit yourself to becoming the most prepared player on the court/field. When you are prepared, you develop confidence. When you aren’t afraid to make mistakes, you develop confidence. When you prepare on a high level, you develop toughness. You expect more of yourself than anyone else. You can withstand the trials. You have prepared hard and are committed to being the last one standing.
The ultimate source of confidence is knowing you are 100% prepared.
Failing isn’t scary, even the best athletes fail at some point in their careers. The real failure is not being prepared, failing is not putting yourself in the best position as possible. Failing means you were unprepared. If you try your hardest, work the hardest, that’s all you can do. There is no failure in giving it everything you’ve got.
What I have learned is this… the people who tell you that you will never make it are often the ones who are most afraid that you will.
