Control the Controllables

A Parents Guide to Helping to Reduce the Feeling of Pressure in Your Athlete

Author

Fortitude 365
December 07, 2023

Hi Everyone, thanks for checking out this week’s newsletter. Below you'll find:

  • Performance Concept of the week

    • Control the Controllables: A Parents Guide to Helping to Reduce the Feeling of Pressure in Your Athlete

  • Action plan

  • Resource of the week

  • Things to Explore

  • Got Questions?

Performance Concept of the Week

Control the Controllables: A Parents Guide to Helping to Reduce the Feeling of Pressure in Your Athlete

In today’s digital world of sports everything is out in the open, and can be seen world wide. It seems everything can be found on social media and video. This makes for a very external perspective where we as humans have the ability to compare ourselves to others. The result is many athletes today feel more pressure than ever before because everyone is watching.

One of the most common comments we hear in sport and performance psychology from athletes is about being overwhelmed or stressed out from the pressure.

Every coach on the planet has at some point said to their athletes “control the controllables”, or “focus on the controllables”. If you want to support your competitive or high performance athlete through this stress and pressure remind them to focus on things they can control. By focusing on the things they can control it will enhance performance, but also help them cope with stress and pressure.

So what does this really mean?

Check out the video 2 minute video below by Trey McCalla (2019) on Control the Controllables.

Video Key Take Aways

  • When you focus on things you cannot control it creates a sense you have no choice, no power, that external factors are the reasons why you perform the way you do.

  • Focussing on the controllables allows you to focus your attention, and energy on things you CAN do, it will force you to take action, and empower you to perform your best, and be resilient when it counts.

What Can Athletes Control?

There are three key steps to control the controllables. The first step is “perception” of their control. Here is a list of the top things athletes can control:

  • Attitude

  • Effort

  • Thoughts

  • Emotions

  • Preparation

  • Energy

  • Body Language

  • Response(s) to situations/adversity

The second steps is recognizing the right mindset to maintain control. Some of the most common mindsets to help control the controllables include:

  • Growth Mindset

  • Challenge Mindset

  • Change Mindset

  • Problem Solving Mindset

  • Discipline Mindset

  • The High Performance Mindset

Mindset is what is in front of us and do we feel it helps or hurts us in performance. The key to staying in the High Performance Mindset is that by focussing on the controllables, it forces us to be process oriented, not outcome oriented. This could also be put as, it forces us to be internal, not external with our focus! Our internal process drives us to perform.

The third step is the importance of collaboration. It assists as part of our ability to influence (the situation and/or others around us) as noted in the video.

As humans when we focus on the controllables or things we can control it is amazing how quickly performance is levelled up.

Summary

By actively supporting your competitive or high performance athlete in mastering the art of controlling the controllables, you contribute to their mental resilience, positive mindset, and enhanced performance. Together, you and your athlete can navigate the stress and pressure of competition with confidence, forging a path toward excellence both on and off the field of play.

Action Plan

This week’s action plan includes challenging your athlete about the controllables.

  1. Ask your athlete what they are in control of. Use the list above to reiterate these to them.

  2. Ask them what mindset they need to control their controllables.

  3. Remind them they need to collaborate with others to enhance performance.

Resource of the Week

For a summary of the video check out the infographic on controlling the controllables.

Things to Explore

Got Questions?

Do you have a question, or want to know more about a topic. Let our team of experts help you. Ask your question here by clicking the button below. We will post answers to questions within future newsletters.

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