Thirty years ago, mental-performance coaches dedicated extensive time to working with Olympians, aiming to facilitate perfect performances.
“There was a lot of focus on being in the zone—in your flow state—and basically trying to set up the perfect performance,” explains Sean McCann, Ph.D., a senior sport psychologist for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee with over three decades of coaching experience.
However, perfection is seldom achieved; chaos is often present. (Consider the 2020/2021 Games and the unpredictability of life.) As mindfulness and resilience gained traction in research and popular discourse as effective ways to cope with chaos, these concepts also began to take hold in high-performance training.
Experts like McCann have shifted their focus to “moments of disruptive pressure.” These are situations where traditional mental skills, such as visualization, may falter due to overwhelming circumstances.
This can occur in high-stakes environments or even in everyday scenarios like tense negotiations. Athletes cannot simply go on autopilot; they must remain engaged, aware, and in control of their focus.
“We’ve evolved into helping athletes figure out where their head is and be able to handle a lot of chaos, rather than seeking an elusive flow state,” McCann notes. Mastering chaos involves developing skills to go through challenging moments. Olympians prepare their minds to be resilient, agile, and energized.
Yet, high-performance thinking can benefit anyone, not just elite athletes. We asked Olympic mental-performance coaches for their updated guidelines for succeeding in life.
Absolutely, anxiety will arise when the stakes are high. Attempting to suppress or judge that feeling won’t eliminate it; instead, embrace it. “Understanding that most significant performance moments are somewhat internally chaotic is really useful,” says McCann.
This acceptance normalizes anxiety, reducing its perceived threat. By reframing anxiety as “excitement,” athletes can enhance their performance, as demonstrated by a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Similarly, shift your internal dialogue from “pressure-filled” to “intense” or “electric,” advises Michael Gervais, Ph.D., of Finding Mastery, a performance psychologist for elite sports teams and executives. Removing judgment and pressure helps you face the challenges ahead, he adds.
For elite athletes, underperforming isn’t merely something to dismiss—it provides valuable insights that inform future actions. “Olympians flex optimism,” says Gervais.
“They tend to interpret events in a way that gives them agency and the opportunity to grow.” The more detailed your analysis, the better equipped you are to improve.
McCann suggests reflecting on what went wrong: “Did you dislike the outcome or the execution?” If the execution was as planned but the outcome was unsatisfactory, you likely had no control over the result (another competitor may have been faster).
If your execution fell short, then “you have countless data points that are useful for the next performance,” McCann explains. Identify the triggers that led you off course.
Did you stray from your plan? Get distracted? “Was it something you didn’t do, can’t do, or just haven’t done before?” he asks. Then, consider your next chance to do something differently.
The outdated notion of taking a hit and pretending it didn’t affect you is no longer helpful. “One of the things that greats do more than they did 25 years ago is be honest with themselves,” Gervais states.
“That’s one of the fundamentals for performance, because now you’re working from what’s true, rather than just interpreting events to minimize anxiety.”
Gervais recognizes the challenge: he was consulting for the Seattle Seahawks during their 2014 Super Bowl victory against Denver and again in 2015 when they lost to the Patriots following a late-game interception.
“It would be a mistake not to feel all of that,” he says. “If you mute or fear the depth of those emotions, the key to performance improvement may remain locked away.
You need to experience it first in order to learn and grow.” Acknowledging the gravity of setbacks and your role in them—Gervais advocates journaling—can help build resilience for future challenges.
Robert Andrews, L.M.F.T., founder and director of the Institute of Sports Performance, has advised Olympic champions like Simone Biles and Simone Manuel.
Andrews emphasizes that while hard work is crucial, an excessive work ethic can hinder peak performance. Constantly believing that more effort is necessary can lead to feelings of hopelessness rather than breakthroughs.
When Andrews works with athletes and executives who exhaust themselves without achieving desired results, he asks, “What do you do to recharge?”
The response should involve more than just napping. “You need to engage in meaningful activities outside your practice or profession that replenish your energy,” he says. He recounts stories of champions who found that such activities transformed their careers, whether it’s watching sunsets at the beach or enjoying Taco Tuesdays with teammates.
Stepping away to engage in refreshing activities is so vital that researchers have dubbed mental recovery time “the forgotten session” in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.
This doesn’t have to be a solitary endeavor. Research from Texas Christian University shows that athletes who engage in socializing as a recovery strategy perform better than those who do not.
Success stems from establishing a solid plan for a strong finish; it’s not merely about the finish itself. For instance, if you’re a 1,500-meter runner focused on achieving a specific time, worrying about stamina for the final 300 meters on race day may cause you to hold back early.
However, if you develop a strategy—such as determining how to maintain pace in the last 600 meters—you concentrate on positive actions, McCann explains. “Identifying what constitutes a successful race and planning for it enhances your chances of achieving that success.”
He underscores that having a series of actionable steps, regardless of external factors—like an unusual warmup or a tense interaction—makes success more attainable.
Rather than fixating on “What if I don’t achieve my goal?” the focus shifts to “How will I pursue that goal?” You can’t control whether a competitor will outperform you or if negotiations will turn negative. What you can do is commit to a plan that positions you for success. That approach leads to victory.
