“Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.”- Alex Karras

Mental toughness is the psychological edge that enables players to be more consistent and better than their opponents.

At the highest level, it is often the mental toughness which separates the elite performers from the good performers.

In football, there has been very little scientific attention focusing around football mental toughness, and this is seen as very surprising considering that the term has been widely used over the last twenty years.

No one is born with mental toughness, it is an inner strength athletes can cultivate and a skill they can learn. It is the ‘true grit’ that helps the players work through difficult situations, remaining focused on their goal.

Research shows that top competitive athletes succeed not only for their physical talents and their dedication to training, but also for their dexterity in dealing with the psychological pressures of a football mental game.

It is therefore very important to look at the underlying factors that help develop mental toughness.

Here are 4 ways to improve your football confidence and football mental toughness:

Always have a plan with goals – A plan will give you direction and goals give you a clear focus for your actions and energies. With a clear objective, you will have greater control of your football mind; and without clear objectives and goals you will have no way of knowing when you have completed the task successfully.

Influence Your State of Mind – Mental Toughness is being in charge of our own state of mind and responsible for your results. To maintain control of you mind is developing the ability to stay in the present moment. Realize that you decide what to think and how to respond resiliently to the world around you, rather than having your thoughts and emotions influenced and controlled by the opinion of others, or a temporary situation.

Create a Strong Mind through Discipline – Mental toughness is learning to maintain a strong and disciplined mind, conditioning it into knowing you can press on and persevere by doing your best regardless of your feelings or circumstances. When your mind is strong and disciplined, you have a better chance of accomplishing what you set out to do.

Stay positive about your goals – Stay both realistic and positive in striving to achieve individual and group goals. Optimism is the oxygen that fuels the engine of perseverance. Understand that things will go wrong, that it is almost always harder than we thought and that it takes longer than expected. Again, you may have to change your approach or think differently as the context changes. Stay positive about your goals and don’t quit.

It is important you understand your abilities and cultivate your football mental toughness to get through any situation.

It is also important that you take the first step to strengthen your mental game.

Remember, without the mind the body cannot follow. What are you going to do today that will allow you to become mentally tough?

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

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