Dealing with adversity is a part of life; every athlete encounters difficult situations. Either you beat it, or it beats you. The best way to learn how to overcome adversity is to learn how to be resilient.
Resilient means being able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. As an athlete you may have to overcome things like injuries, losing games, and refs making bad calls on the field. As a team, you may face a losing streak. This is when you need to be the most resilient. When dealing with adversity you can’t always control what happens in life, but you can influence the outcome.
Will you let the loses get the best of you? Will you let one bad call from the ref ruin your attitude for the rest of the game? Will you let fans in the stands diminish your confidence on the field? Life is about choices and choosing how to act or respond is all up to you. Its easy to be positive when things are going well but how will you cope with adversity?
Here are some ways to deal with adversity:
Try not to play the blame game – You are in control of the game. Despite what is going wrong, you can choose to develop a game play to overcome situations that can not be controlled. Own things that you can control and when you see your teammates getting upset regroup and figure out a game plan to overcome it.
Keep calm! – By losing your temper you are showing everyone, including your opponent, that you know you are defeated. Losing your temper only distracts you from completing the next step of the task or play and could cost you the game. So stay cool, calm, and collected throughout the game.
Love the challenges that come with the sport you play. A lot can be learned from adversity on the field and can make you a better person when you have reached the end of your career. Instead of focusing on how bad something is, learn to embrace the challenge. These challenges are what gives you the strength and confidence that will define who you are as a player and as a person.
