"The successful person will profit from their mistakes and try again in a different way. Mistakes happen and are a normal and inevitable part of sports and life. We aren't perfect and never will be. Baseball hitters are going to strike out multiple times, musicians are going to strike the wrong note, and basketball players are going to miss free throws. It's all part of the performance experience."
"Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a popular approach of sports psychology practitioners around the world, teaches that when a mistake happens, it's an opportunity to figure out what went wrong, adjust, and keep going. We must move on from mistakes—and the pesky, distracting thoughts and emotions that tag along with them—to perform effectively. It's what ACT calls psychological flexibility."
"The tree that bends doesn't break. That's a Tanzanian proverb used by esteemed British psychologist Ross White, Ph.D., to metaphorically explain psychological flexibility. Herein is how to flexibly bend in the wind and respond effectively to mistakes."
Mistakes are an inevitable and normal part of sports and life. Baseball hitters strike out, musicians hit wrong notes, and basketball players miss free throws. How performers respond to these mistakes determines whether they lead to further errors or improved performance. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) teaches that mistakes present opportunities to identify what went wrong, adjust, and continue performing. Psychological flexibility—the ability to move past mistakes and associated negative thoughts and emotions—is essential for effective performance. This approach, used by sports psychology practitioners worldwide, emphasizes bending rather than breaking under pressure, allowing performers to learn from errors and maintain momentum.
#psychological-flexibility #mistake-management #sports-performance #acceptance-and-commitment-therapy #athletic-excellence
Read at Psychology Today
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