“I always designed my practice plans the night before and then made tweaks a few hours before practice began” – Bob Knight

Having a clear understanding of mental toughness is important. Once you understand your current level of basketball mental toughness you can then start to improve it.

Developing your basketball mental toughness can help you be more emotionally resilient, push you to go further and harder, and build armor to persevere against the bullets that life fires your way. It’s not easy to be mentally tough but it can be done with practice.

Mental toughness involves more than just willpower; it requires hard work and commitment. It’s about establishing healthy habits and choosing to devote your time and energy to self-improvement.

Mentally tough athletes don’t have to be more courageous, more talented, or more intelligent — just more consistent.

Mentally tough athletes develop systems that help them focus on the important stuff regardless of how many obstacles life puts in front of them. It’s their habits that form the foundation of their mental performance and ultimately set them apart.

Olympic athletes are excellent examples of how to channel talent into success in the mental game of basketball. They do not rely on luck to take home the gold medal. World-class basketball players practice with laser focus and a specific goal in mind.

It’s not just repeating the same task over and over–effective practice requires the following plan of action:
• Break down each task into individual parts
• Spend extra time on actions you find especially difficult
• Get feedback, and adjust accordingly
• Put your ego on the back burner
• Keep your goals in front of you

When you know why you need to get through something it makes it easier to suck it up and carry on, but you also need the willpower to break through the barriers you might come across.

Building up your basketball psychology takes time, but you can do so by developing simple, unrelated habits.

Sticking through tough times can give you the confidence you need to keep your composure when stuff hits the fan. It’s okay to be in touch with emotions, but having some control over them is beneficial.

Instead of emitting an emotional response that stems from your discomfort and fear of the situation, you’ll be capable of checking emotions at the door and taking care of your game in a calm and efficient way.

Mental toughness isn’t about getting an incredible dose of inspiration or courage. It’s about building the daily habits that allow you to stick to a schedule and overcome challenges and distractions over and over and over again.

You can start building your basketball mental toughness today and reach the levels of your game and success that you never thought possible.

Outstanding athletic prowess, superior intellect and talent may take an athlete so far. Without mental toughness it is very difficult to reach your full potential.

*Download the free mental game assessment and get started on Improving your Mental Game in Basketball