Mindset Coaching: What You Can Learn From Olympians

When you watch the Olympics, you are easily in awe of the physical strength, speed, and agility of these world-class athletes. But what you don’t see is the amount of mental preparation they have done with a mindset coach to get there. Mindset coaching is a difference-maker for these top athletes and it can be for you too.

This has become more apparent recently following Michael Phelps’ documentary The Weight of Gold and Simone Biles’ docu-series Simone Biles Rising , which explore the mental health issues of Olympians.

These Olympic athletes are carrying the weight of the world and utilize mindset coaching to help them achieve their goals by taking care of their mental health.

While you may not be training for the Olympics, you certainly have high-stakes moments and can absolutely feel like you have a ton of pressure on your back. So why not utilize the same techniques by taking care of your mental health to meet your goals???

Here are three mindset coaching techniques Olympians use that you can too.

?1. Visualization ??

Visualization is creating a mental image of what you want combined with how you want to feel when you get it. For example, an Olympian will visualize themselves winning the gold and the pride and joy they feel when they’re standing on the podium. They visualize feeling the weight of the gold medal around their neck, watching their flag being raised, and hearing their national anthem being played.?

And they do this over and over again. It is basically like doing mental manifestation practice reps.

The University of Chicago conducted a study with randomly selected students to see if visualization would impact their free throws in basketball.

The students were divided into three groups for 30 days to perform different tasks:

• Group 1: No basketball activity at all.
• Group 2: Practiced free throws for 30 minutes daily.
• Group 3: Visualized hitting free throws for 30 minutes daily.

After 30 days, results showed:

• Group 1: No improvement.
• Group 2: Improved by 24%.
• Group 3: Improved by 23% from visualization ALONE!

Visualization led to nearly the same improvement as physical practice. Pretty wild, right?

2. Reframe Anxiety as Excitement ??

Believe it or not, Anxiety and excitement are chemically almost the same in your body. Both cause a fast heartbeat, butterflies in your stomach, and sometimes sweating.?

Your body is gearing up for action, but the emotions behind these feelings are different. Anxiety comes from fear or scarcity, while excitement comes from joy or abundance. Olympians know how to shift from anxiety to excitement quickly.?

If you ever watch an Olympian being interviewed after winning a race, the interviewer often asks, "Were you nervous before the race?” and almost always hears the Olympian say, “I wasn’t nervous; I was excited.” They know how to channel and reframe that energy to enter a state of flow.

In fact, researchers found that when people say, “I’m excited,” when they start to feel those anxious feelings, “they actually gave better public speeches, they sang better in karaoke, and did better on math tests. It sounds too simple to be true, but what you’re really doing is getting yourself out of a threat mindset, where you’re focused on all the things that could go wrong, and into an opportunity mindset, where you’re thinking about all the good things that could happen if you do well.”

3. Stay in the Present Moment ??

Most anxiety comes from two sources: 1) worrying about the past or 2) worrying about what may or may not happen in the future.?

So, how do you stay in the present moment? With mindfulness, which is the intentional investigation of the present moment.?

“Olympians do mindfulness training, where they try not to judge or worry, but just stay in the present moment,” sports psychologist Dan Gould .

Research on mindfulness has identified these benefits for people: reduced rumination, stress reduction, boosts to working memory, improved focus, less emotional reactivity, more cognitive flexibility, better relationships, boost performance, and increased recovery.

As a mental fitness and mindset coach, former athlete, and top performer in the finance world and now wellness space, I know how powerful these techniques are . I have used them in my own life to get a full scholarship in college, give board presentations to multibillion-dollar companies, and prepare myself for a deep conversation with a loved one .

They really helped me, and I know they can help you, too.

And I also know how helpful it can be to have a supportive community to help you shift your mindset.

If you are looking for support, DM me with “mindset coaching,” and I can share how we can support and walk alongside you in your journey.

When you are ready, here are three ways we can help you.

?? Knowing and Living Your Values : During my 10-day course, you’ll identify your unique values, see where you’re currently activating them, and make small tweaks where you’re not so that every day is filled with purpose. Join 7,500+ Students Here .

?? Alignment Coaching : Want to start being your most authentic self? ?Work with me 1x1 to align with your core values and ignite more well-being without compromising your impact. Learn more here.

??Hire MaryBeth as a Speaker : Have an all-staff event, annual meeting or conference coming up? I will inspire your audience to give themselves and others, permission to be human, unleashing higher productivity, profit, and purpose through shared values. Learn more here.?