Transforming Stress from Kryptonite to Superpower

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

• Performance Concept of the week

  • Transforming Stress from Kryptonite to Superpower: How Stress Can Elevate Your Athlete’s Game & How You Can Help!

• Action plan

• Resource of the week

• Things to Explore

• Got Questions?

Performance Concept of the Week

In our last newsletter we discussed the management of expectations as a means of supporting your athlete. In this edition we switch gears and look at stress.

Stress or stressful times are inevitable in competitive and high performance sports. This is why your athlete can use your support!

The pressure to meet expectations, perform, train, travel, compete, and juggle various other commitments can be overwhelming. But here's the good news: stress isn't the enemy. In fact, with the right mindset, it can become their greatest asset. As a parent, your role in helping your athlete manage and harness stress is crucial.

When asked what do all super hero’s have in common, most would answer “their super power”, but isn’t their super power their confidence to use their super power under extremely stressful situations?

This is why stress needs to become your super power, not your kryptonite!

The Power of Stress

The way your athlete perceives and responds to stress can make all the difference between thriving under pressure or crumbling beneath it. This is where mindset comes in. A stress-enhancing mindset views stress as a challenge and opportunity, using it to fuel performance. Conversely, a stress-debilitating mindset amplifies anxiety and avoidance, making it harder to perform at their best.

In a Stanford study, researchers found that athletes with a stress-debilitating mindset could change their perception of stress by training their meta-cognition—or their thinking about their thinking. How do we do this? Using a self-talk technique of reframing, or journaling as a means of reflection. By reframing stress, or reflecting on it after the fact athletes can embrace it in the future, shifting their focus from fear and avoidance to growth and performance.

Why Stress Can Be Good for High-Performance Athletes

Stress triggers a series of physiological (Body) and psychological (Brain) responses that prepare the body and mind for competition and action. Here’s how stress can actually enhance performance:

1. Improved Focus and Concentration: Moderate stress heightens focus, allowing athletes to tune out distractions and concentrate on the task at hand.

   • Result = Make fewer mistakes!

2. Enhanced Motivation: Stress pushes athletes to train harder, dig deeper, strive for improvement, and overcome obstacles, and perform in clutch situations.

   • Result = Push through stressful situations.

3. Adaptation and Growth: Stress builds resilience, similar to how muscles grow after being stressed during weight training.

   • Result = More consistent.

4. Increased Performance Under Pressure: Stress exposure teaches athletes how to thrive in high-pressure environments.

   • Result = Enhance performance

5. Promotes Mental Toughness: Learning to manage stress fosters emotional control and mental toughness, essential for peak performance.

   • Result = Resilience

4 Steps to Help Your Athlete Harness the Stress-Enhancing Mindset

As a parent you have to walk a fine line between supportive and pushing their buttons when they are stressed! It isn’t your role to teach them mental skills. It is your role to challenge their thoughts and mindset when it is less than desirable. Here are four ways to help them understand and action the stress-enhancing mindset:

1. Explain the Stress-Enhancing Mindset

Understanding how stress works is the first step toward mastering it. Start by asking your athlete:

• Have there been times when stress helped you perform better?

• When has stress hindered your performance?

This discussion helps your athlete realize that stress, when framed positively, can be a powerful tool. It can sharpen their focus, drive motivation, and help them overcome challenges.

2. Help Them Label Their Stress

Noticing and naming stress gives your athlete control over their emotions. Encourage them to reflect on:

• How stress makes them feel emotionally.

• The physical sensations they experience when stressed.

• The thoughts that come to mind when they're under pressure.

• How their behavior changes when they're stressed.

This awareness builds a deeper understanding of stress, helping them manage it more effectively.

3. Welcome the Stress

Instead of avoiding stress, teach your athlete to welcome it. Ask them:

• If you’re stressed about this, what do you care about? Stress often signals that something important is at stake.

• Dig deeper by asking “Why?” three times. This will help them uncover the real reasons behind their stress and connect it to their goals.

When athletes understand that stress arises because they care deeply about their performance, it becomes easier to manage and use to their advantage.

4. Turn Stress into a Superpower

Finally, guide your athlete to transform stress into a performance booster. Ask:

• How could stress help you in this situation?

• What changes could you make to allow stress to enhance your performance?

• What opportunities does stress provide?

By learning to embrace stress, your athlete can transform it from their kryptonite into a superpower that fuels their focus, energy, and performance.

Breath Work

Lastly, remind your athlete that the best way to reduce stress in the moment is breath work. Even the GOATS use it! Check out the video below of Lebron James completing some breath work during a Paris 2024 Olympic game.

Summary

Stress is inevitable, especially for competitive or high performance athletes, but with the right mindset and support, it can actually help them perform their best! When your athlete learns to embrace stress, they can unlock their true potential. By using these strategies, you can help them turn stress into a tool that enhances their performance rather than holds them back. Stress doesn’t have to be their kryptonite, it can become their superpower!

This article only scratches the surface of coping with stress. If you would like more information or feel your athlete could use some support from a sport psychology professional, feel free to reach out.

Action Plan

As a parent, your role is to guide your athlete through their stress—not by telling them to avoid it, but by encouraging them to lean into it. Support them by helping them reframe stress as a tool for growth and performance.

Suggested Action: Practice the 4 steps to harnessing stress with your athlete. Engage in open conversations about stress and how they can use it to their advantage.

Resource of the Week

The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal

This book provides invaluable insights into how reframing stress can transform it into a powerful motivator for success. McGonigal explains how changing your mindset about stress can lead to improved health, happiness, and resilience.

Things to Explore

• Read: Our Reading Library

• Download: Resource Guide Series

• View: Previous Weekly Performance Concepts

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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