Shift your Mindset after a Difficult Skate

“We did the best we could today” Meagan said after the long program.

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford fought through both the long and the short programs at NHK Trophy this weekend. They knew they could do better, we knew they could do better but…

THIS WAS THEIR BEST ON THE DAY.

You may be thinking, this wasn’t close to their “best” how can they consider it their best on the day or any day?

This can only be explained by the fact that these two are so MENTALLY TOUGH and have spent so many years TRAINING THEIR MENTAL GAME that they have completely changed their mindset. (I know this because I did an interview with them last spring after they won Worlds for the second time! You can watch it here). This doesn’t mean that they won’t have a bad day or a disappointing performance.

It just means that they won’t allow a performance or a practice to define them as skaters.
They struggle some days and so do YOU! It is how Meagan and Eric choose to view the performance that gets them back on the ice Monday morning working harder than ever for the next one.

When you choose to hold on to and define yourself by your best or worst performance you get stuck.

Three steps to shifting your mindset after a difficult performance are:

1. Detaching from the outcome
2. Finding the lesson
3. Letting it go

You are NOT your best or your worst skate!

Your ability and awesomeness as a skater is about SO much more than how you perform at one competition!! I can tell you this, your coach can tell you this, your parent can tell you this…but it is YOU who needs to believe this to be true.

*Ask me how I can help you shift your mindset and develop this belief in yourself!

Until next time,

Keep your Mind in the Game!