Mistakes equal experience, not failure
Learning from your mistakes is one of the most important things you can do for your game. When you view your mistakes as failures, you beat yourself up about it, causing you to get stuck in the past,
Learning from your mistakes is one of the most important things you can do for your game. When you view your mistakes as failure, you beat yourself up, causing you to get stuck in the past, taking your head out of the game & leading to more mistakes. So it’s important for you to remind yourself that it’s okay to make a mistake, because you are not defined by them.
Everyone makes mistakes, even the greatest players in the world make mistakes. It’s part of Football. The important thing to remember is that it’s never about the missed pass or bad shot, it’s about how you respond afterward, how you shake it off & learn from it.
Ask yourself, how do you respond after making a mistake? How do you speak to yourself afterward? How do you grow from it? These are all important questions because they’ll help you understand what you need to do to positively grow from your mistakes, rather than allowing them to make you lose your head.
“Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it.”
- Mia Hamm
How to refocus after making a mistake:
Overcoming mistakes in the moment is important, especially when it’s within a game where you can’t spend much time dwelling on it. Developing habits that will help you shake off a mistake quickly will improve your overall game.
Reset Rituals are a perfect thing to learn & consistently practice to help you overcome mistakes in the moment. The more you practice these, the easier it will be (just like passing or any other move in football!).
Reset Ritual examples:
• Practice positive self-talk: The way you speak to yourself directly impacts your ability to perform on & off the pitch. If you’re speaking to yourself negatively, you will already be climbing an uphill battle. So when a mistake occurs, remind yourself that you can’t go back & fix it, you can just do better next time.
Self-Talk Phrases examples:
- Focus on the next play
- Let go, move on.
- I am not defined by my mistakes.
You are your own teammate, so be kind & give yourself grace. You got this.
•Redirect your mind: Sometimes it’s hard to stop fixating on a mistake, which will then create your mind to spiral & take you completely out of the game. In order to disrupt this, practice directing your attention to a detail within the play, the color of the ball or pattern on socks. Sounds simple,, but it helps you focus on the moment, which will help you refocus on the next play.
•Breathing Exercises: This is one of the simplest ways to calm yourself down because it helps activate the body’s relaxation response.
4-4-4 Breathing Technique
Step 1: Pick a shape (Square, Triangle, etc)
Step 2: While visualizing the shape, inhale for 4 seconds.
Step 3: Hold your breath for four seconds.
Step 4: Exhale to the count of four.
There are many ways to reset your mind after a mistake. When you watch a game, you can see players do it without even noticing. Fixing their socks, hair or retying their boots. It’s just about creating a habit that helps you quickly move on because the only thing that matters is how you move forward.
“Football, like life, is filled with ups & downs. The most important thing is to keep moving forward & never give up.”
- Diego Maradona
