What can get in the way of success: how are we hindering our own progress?

Sometimes, despite all the talent and talent of an athlete, he or she seems to be haunted by failures: nothing works out in training, everything seems to fall out of his or her hands in competitions. This phenomenon may have psychological reasons.

Sergei Savinov

sports psychologist, specialist in integrative and applied psychology, business psychologist.

Shares his personal experience of working with athletes.

5 psychological reasons for failure in sport

Responsibility

The most dangerous phrase that can be said to an athlete is “You have a lot of responsibility”. As soon as this aspect appears, a person becomes prone to mistakes, as responsibility implies an external “mentor” who cannot be let down.

In the presence of responsibility, every action on the court is more scrupulously evaluated, which raises doubts about its effectiveness. The choice of technical action becomes a fraction of a second slower, and the action itself is not as precise due to excitement.

Responsibility breeds fear of failure. Fear breeds nervousness. Nervousness breeds mistakes. This can be a responsibility to family, coach, team, or higher authority. An athlete who is free of responsibility behaves more maturely and calmly on the court.

Over-motivation or over-importance of the result

This factor is purely personal and depends on how important the end result is to the athlete. If a title, fee or future prospects are crucial in life, there is a high probability of unconscious fear of losing this opportunity.

The brain adjusts to the scenario that is playing out in the mind at the level of images. If fear is present, the image of a negative scenario is played more often.

In order to get back, you have to recreate the situation. But the gestalt has another property: when we recreate the situation, the very image that was unsuccessful is playing in front of our eyes. That is, in fact, we program ourselves to repeat the situation with exactly the same outcome. Any gestalt, so that it does not repeat, requires its closure at the psychological level.

Negative scenario

This is often seen at the team level as a massive set reflex. If matches involving two opponents started and ended the same way several times, it can form a conditioned reflex.

So, for example, if the Tigers are used to the fact that after scoring a goal in the first half against the Eagles, they concede three goals in the second half, and this scenario has been repeated in several meetings, it can become a psychological pattern in the future. “We scored first, and now we’ll definitely concede three in the second half like we always do,” is a similar thought swirling around among the team’s players.

Negative experience or external setting

For example, if a fighter lost a previous title fight because of a disciplinary offense, say, a banned punch, he will be overly cautious in the rematch. Instead of working at full strength, we’ll get a “I don’t want to…” scenario. In this case, just as long as he doesn’t break the rules again and lose the opportunity to win the title. This will lead to uncertainty in a 100 percent situation.

To summarize, I would like to note that such issues can best be solved through readjustment of psychological patterns and working with a qualified specialist. Otherwise, entire teams can lose opportunities and athletes can bury their talent.