“I recruit character as much as I recruit ability. And if you’ve built a team of character, they can handle moments that others cannot, and they accept coaching on how to manage pressure” Roy Williams

As an athlete, you know that mistakes are inevitable in the basketball court. 

However, it’s common among athletes to mull over some errors they have made in the past. They often forget that occasional mistakes here and there do not make them a bad player, it’s more of a great learning experience – of what they can do better.

There are a few tried and tested sport psychology techniques you can follow to cope with errors when you are not performing well.

Be Aware of Your Perfectionist Mindset

Do you wonder if your desire for excellence crosses the line into perfectionism?

Perfectionists set very high and sometimes unrealistic standards for themselves and perhaps for others around them.

Perfectionists are prone to becoming upset and frustrated over minor mistakes.

This all leads to higher levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, and self-defeating thoughts or behaviors.

They replay these negative thoughts and extend them to other areas of their life, causing damage to their confidence and mental toughness.

It can also make you “opt-out” due to fear of failure and can rob you of your state of mind, eventually lead to a downgraded performance in your mental and physical game.

Control Your Mindset

Those who wrestle with perfectionism tend to have a critical voice in their head telling them their work isn’t good enough, they’re not trying hard enough, and they’re not good enough.

If you’re going to overcome perfectionism, you must work on changing this little voice!

You have more power over your mind than you believe.

You can begin to turn around negative situations just by tuning in to positive thoughts.

Check out the tips below on how to calm your mind after making mistakes.

• Set Realistic Expectations. Before each game, review your expectations and set realistic expectations for you and your team. This will help minimize a tendency to set an unrealistically high bar.
• Ask for help. Perfectionists can get so caught up in themselves that they miss opportunities to solicit a different perspective.
• Keep a gratitude journal. Regularly, list three things you are grateful for or the positives from the day. This will provide a counter-balance to the internal saboteur.
• Look after yourself. Find a friend, a mentor, or colleague who appreciates you for who you are, and can celebrate successes with you. Find ways to remind yourself of all your great strengths and achievements.
• Challenge yourself. Give more praise than criticism.

Everyone makes mistakes. The main difference is that successful athletes learn from them, and unsuccessful athletes don’t. By following the above basketball psychology tips, you’ll see rapid progress and fewer significant mistakes.

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