Psychological components of fitness and resilience in sport are closely linked. Supporting or increasing the components of psychological fitness may smooth the path of building resilience in athletes. These ingredients can help shield athletes from the negative effects of stress.
Many aspects of sport – including training and competition – have the potential to play a part in individual stress. Some athletes cope well. Others may even thrive as they overcome adversity, and accomplish challenging goals. However, some may suffer unpleasant consequences.
With the aim of preventing harmful outcomes, rather than simply responding to them, increasing resilience becomes highly important. Resilience is defined by some as the ability to withstand, recover from, and grow in the face of adversity. Having psychological fitness in sport relates to the ability to adapt, and remain in balance with the demands of the situation at hand.
Regardless, being able to buffer the effects of stress effectively and efficiently lends it self to the highest levels of sport. Scientific research has identified self-regulation, positive emotions, perceived control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and an optimistic disposition as key factors.
Psychological fitness may be viewed as the integration of these and otters components. An athlete’s abilities are shaped by how they think, feel and behave. Performance, well-being and a healthy response to stress are positively affected by optimising all these components. It is these factors that provide a firm foundation of resilience. Upon this foundation, the complex processes on how an individual responds to stress play out.
Clearly this requires more than just building mental skills. It requires the development of self-awareness by the athlete. The more aware they are of how they respond, the emotions they experience, and the consequent thoughts they have, they better chance they have to perform to the highest of their ability.
There is no single best approach.
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