If you watch sports long enough you realize that the best athlete is not the guaranteed winner. No matter what the sport, there’s much more to winning than pure skill. I am happily married to a coach and over the years we have watched our share of sports on TV. It's amazing how often an athlete's thinking process determines the outcome of the game.
“What’s happening?” I ask my husband.
“He’s having a meltdown.”
And sure enough, you can see by his stooped shoulders and shuffling step the guy has been reduced to a puddle of his former self.
“How did she pull that off?” I ask about a come-from-behind victory.
“Amazing what can happen when you don’t give up.”
What my husband is describing is known as mental toughness. As Sport Psychologist Jim Taylor points out, “The obvious game is the competitive one that occurs against your opponent. The more important game, though, is the mental game that you will play inside your head against yourself”(ix). The longer I live, and especially the longer I work with college freshmen, the more I realize that this mental game, and the toughness needed to win it, can mean the difference between success and failure.
Yes, what you know is important, but this isn't quite enough. Yes, ACT scores and high school GPA are strong predictors of academic success in college, but some research shows that non-academic factors also play a vital role in student success. Intangibles like confidence, motivation, and commitment can also help students “score big” in the college classroom(2).
This semester we’re going to explore the idea that mental toughness is a key component in academic life. Each blog post will introduce a new aspect of the mental game for us to think about, to write about, and to integrate into our daily lives. At the end of each post, I will pose a few questions, comments, or quotes for you to consider and respond to in your own blog. I hope you will bring your own set of questions and comments with you to class.
1. What do the words "mental toughness" mean to you? How does this relate to your performance at school?
2. Does one need to be an athlete to understand the importance of a strong mental game? Why or why not?
Works Cited
The Role of Nonacademic
Factors in College Readiness and Success. N.p.: ACT
Inc., 2007. ACT improve yourself.
Web. 2 Sept. 2013.
<http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/nonacademic_factors.pdf>.
Taylor, Jim. Prime Sport:
Triumph of the Athlete Mind. New York: Writers Club Press, 2001. Print.
