Rebounding From a Loss
A Runner's Guide to Regaining Confidence, Part 1
By Sarah Scholl, EdM
The emotional side of racing can be as unpredictable and as varied as the course itself. It has its high points and its low points, its twists and turns, hidden potholes and deeper than expected puddles. We all know that our ability to navigate the physical course is critical to our performance, but few of us realize that the mental course that we must maneuver proves to be just as important.
When you have a good race, you feel as if the world is right. You worked hard, you put forth a great effort, and you followed through. As runners, most would agree that the feeling we get from success is the feeling that we strive for every time we lace up our shoes. But what happens when the race doesn’t go as well as we had hoped? We are often left with feelings of helpless, hopeless despair about the world and its fairness.
For some, that might seem a little dramatic, but for others, that is reality. Feelings of depression, frustration, and self-doubt often linger long after the race, harming our self-confidence, and effecting the outcome of future races. What can athletes do when faced with such difficulties? The following strategies will help you to get over a poor performance, regain your confidence, and run to your full potential the next time you step on the line.
When I work with athletes dealing with a frustrating performance, I help them implement the strategy of the three R’s:
1. Re-live
In rebounding from a loss, your mindset will affect how you understand and explain what happened. Developing some explanation – for yourself and for others - for the loss is usually the first step in determining whether and how you will move forward. Losing can be devastating for a fixed mindset competitor because they will assume they lost because they were “just not good enough.” You may find it hard to understand why you ran poorly, despite doing everything you possibly could to prepare. In order to avoid these feelings of helpless despair, it is necessary to distinguish between the things that were in your control versus things that were not.
Often, the performance was not a reflection of your physical capabilities, but rather, a representation of your mental state. Take a piece of paper and begin to identify clearly the causes of the outcome. In other words, make a list of all of the things that you think hurt your performance. Things such as dehydration, lack of concentration, negative thoughts, a loose shoe. Next, draw a large circle. Inside the circle, write down the things from your list that you believe were in your control. Outside of the circle, write down the things from your list that you believe were out of your control. According to theory, effort and mental preparation are factors that are controllable, while factors such as style or skill level of the opponents; running conditions or environment are things that athletes can not control.
Studies show that athletes who view their effort and performance as main contributions to their outcome can do better in the future than those who attribute luck or other external factors to a poor performance. So when examining your reasons for the poor performance, attention should be focused on the factors that are controllable.
Once you do this, you can now work toward changing the things in your control, and letting go of the things that you can not. Self-doubt and fear develop as a result of not knowing WHY. Now that you know WHY you had a poor performance, you can work toward preventing it from happening again.
2. Replace
Slumps and failure in this sport are normal. To be successful you must learn to deal with and master failure. A bad race or two does not cause the slump. The slump is a direct result of what you say to yourself about their failures. Instead of ruminating and harboring negative thoughts, it can be effective to reframe the meaning of those bad races and use the experience as a means to getting stronger. Failure gets you closer to success if you learn from them and then forget them. Studies show that cognitive restructuring strategies such as positive self-talk, often lead to increases in confidence levels prior to competition. Reframing thoughts is one of my most valuable attributes as an athlete.
Before the race, I still feel anxious, and I still acknowledge the anxiety, but I embrace the anxiety and think of it as a sign indicating that I am ready to go. During the race, I still feel pain, and I acknowledge pain, but I think of it as a temporary discomfort, necessary to achieve my goal. Obstacles are stepping stones, rather than barriers. Positive self-talk doesn’t need to come naturally, but with practice, you can develop a continuous stream of encouragement that runs through your head. Bob Rotella, peak performance expert, emphasizes the importance of learning to turn performance over to unconscious or automatic functions. An automatic positive flow is critical to maintaining peak performance during competition.
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