“The game honors mental toughness” – Brad Stevens Mental toughness is the ability to rebound from setbacks and disappointments. This characteristic equates to being mentally flexible, having a strong self-belief, persevering through challenges, and responding to situations with calmness, focus, and the presence of mind. Basketball mental toughness is fast becoming the competitive edge for today’s athletes, a life skill and mind-set that helps the athletes win in all aspects of the game. It gets the athletes through the rough times and empowers them to perform with less effort, struggle, and stress. It facilitates other mental skills, such as confidence, focus, resiliency, and mental flexibility, without the need to display bullying or unruly, arrogant behavior. Mental toughness comes from adversity and the ability persevere. Overcoming adversity can create a huge advantage over athletes who are merely talented. The research shows that mental toughness is a learned skill that can be developed through experiences, deliberateness of purpose, and awareness. The fact is – most athletes don’t have the patience to work on their mental game in basketball. They just want to get on the court and do something physical. Eventually, they play terrible without thinking about the psychological aspect of the game. Taking on this type of personal development takes time and effort, but it is a very rewarding investment. Here are some action strategies for developing your mental game in basketball. You have to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone builds your self-confidence and self-esteem. It helps you better understand your own capabilities and motivate you to pursue your goals. You must be able to focus on the game, even in the face of self-doubt or other distractions. You must create a zone like focus to block out all distraction and stay in the moment Mental toughness requires the ability to manage yourself for the long term without yielding to short-term pressures. There will always be highs and lows. But understanding that each challenge or setback is just part of the longer journey helps you keep perspective, learn from your failures, and push on. Resiliency is an essential component of basketball mental toughness. Some of the most inspiring athletes are those who succeed in challenging circumstances – such as insurmountable odds, physical challenges, and the doubts of people around them. When you develop your inner resilience and flexibility, you’re able to deal with whatever comes your way. It enables you to outperform ordinary standards, be optimally effective and productive. Mental toughness isn’t something anyone is born with. It requires commitment, intention, and discipline, all attributes that athletes must also develop to achieve their desired success. No matter what method you choose to develop your mental toughness, you will be transformed in ways you never expected. *Download the free mental game assessment and get started on Improving your Mental Game in Basketball Like my FB page and receive 10% off products by Delice Facebook.com/productsbydelice