Seeing "Challenge" as an Opportunity to Thrive

Introduction

It’s not the challenge itself, but how we respond to it that is vital to success – in life and sports. And that’s down to having a ‘challenge’ mindset, the right mental toolkit, and plenty of practice.

For our young high school and student athletes, performing well is all about facing up to challenges and seemingly insurmountable odds.

Let’s think back to one of America’s greatest athletes for a moment and how they faced one of history’s most challenging times.

In 1935, black athlete Jesse Owens set five world records and equaled a six within an hour. On its own, that’s incredible. Now consider this happened during the Berlin Olympics at the height of the Nazi regime with the Second World War looming.

Hitler had expected his German athletes to dominate the games and was so devasted when an African-American began winning he refused to attend the competition sessions.

Having recognized the challenge as an opportunity, Owens became an enduring image of victory against fascism.

Sadly, his challenges were only then beginning.

When the games were over, he returned home to an America that still marginalized black communities even in the face of outstanding achievements. Yet he remained focused on seeing every challenge as an opportunity.

Even “one chance is all you need,” he said.

Having faith in himself and his abilities, he was able to take on many roles throughout his life – yet he always remained a great advocate for athleticism and humanitarianism and a sportsman ready to take on any new challenge.

Challenge – an essential element of mental toughness

They will move on and have a better approach next time.

On the other hand, the mentally sensitive will believe, “That was bad. It didn’t work. I’ll avoid it next time.”

Researchers writing in the British Medical Journal in 2020 recognized mental toughness as crucial for success in athletes and that, thanks to our ‘neuroplastic’ (moldable) brain, we can develop it further.

We need to think of our challenge approach as being like any other skill. Something we can practice and get good at.

Why "challenge" matters?

As a critical element of mental toughness, ‘challenge’ gives athletes a potential advantage over competitors. The bigger that advantage, the more likely they will perform at their best – more of the time.

The resilient individual is less vulnerable to stress and failure. When things go wrong, they keep functioning and get back into the game.

After all, it’s not the experience of hard times but whether we can see them as a challenge, focus on what we can control, and commit to a positive outcome.

A challenge mindset normalizes change. The individual recognizes that ‘stuff’ happens – that setbacks are a normal part of the game, competition, or race.

Athletes know it, reports Clough and his colleagues.

When interviewed, sportsmen and women report a ‘challenge mindset’ and mental toughness as key to:

● Countering negativity
● Performing at the next level
● Competing under pressure
● Becoming their best in the most challenging conditions
● Pushing through the pain barrier
● Blocking out the ‘noise’
● Focusing on where effort and energy are needed
● Overcoming even unexpected obstacles
● Dealing with challenges inside and outside of sports
● Remaining relaxed and focused under pressure
● Not giving up or taking easy options
● Making hard decisions
● Contributing to the team at times of stress and fatigue

A healthy attitude to change and challenge boosts performance and prepares the player for the long game.

The inevitable failures and knockbacks experienced by high school or college athletes in their sport will not destroy their passion for success. Instead, they will take a moment to regroup, gather their mental and physical resources, and try again – this time with deeper insights.

You don’t have to be the best to win

Perhaps more than any of the other 4Cs (confidence, commitment, and control), ‘challenge’ is vital to explaining why “a perfectly competent individual might underperform and why a moderately competent person might perform better than expected,” writes Clough.
Because it’s not always the best person that wins.

The runner first to the line in the 100m sprint may not be the fastest in training, but they are the most ready for the competition.

Is Tiger Woods the most successful golfer of all time? Probably.

But most would agree he’s not the best. He has dominated the golfing world because he’s so prepared – the one up for a challenge more of the time.

He sums it up with the following:

“The greatest thing about tomorrow is I will be better than I am today. And that's how I look at my life. I will be a better golfer, I will be a better person, I will be a better father, I will be a better husband, I will be a better friend. That's the beauty of tomorrow.”

A mindset like that is unstoppable.

Boosting a challenge mindset

How do we help our high school and college athletes see what challenges have to offer them?