Mindset matters for all athletes—not just those trying to beat a world record. The all-time winningest Ivy League basketball coach, Kathy Delaney-Smith, was known for teaching the mantra, “act as if,” to her athletes to emphasize that challenges are surmountable and goals are attainable even when your mind’s automatic thoughts are telling you the opposite. For example, if you are at the end of a game and your legs are feeling tired, you “act as if” you have endless energy. If a thought pops in your head signaling a worry that someone will beat you on a 1v1, you “act as if” you know you will stop them. My time at Harvard overlapped with Delaney-Smith’s and this “act as if” mentality permeated my Harvard hockey team as well. There were many times in practices where my teammates would say to each other “act as if you love this drill” when our coach put us through a grueling practice.
Working through difficult experiences with a positive attitude and belief system will not only help you perform better, but it will make the process more enjoyable. Athletes today often forget that playing their sport is a choice. It is something they get to do, not something they have to do. My favorite fitness instructor and sports reporter, Jess Sims, lives and educates by the tag line “you don’t have to, you get to.” By embracing gratitude and positivity, Sims and her #GetToCrew flip the script on demanding and exhausting workouts by seeing them instead as a privilege and a gift you give yourself because you deserve it and you can do it.
