What trait do they all have in common? They knew their goals and their beliefs and they were willing to die for them. They didn’t let any obstacle, even death, stop them from living out what mattered most to them. They were extremely resilient even when facing a painful death. Now as a lacrosse player, you probably won’t have to die to achieve your goals, but if your goals are high, you will have to go to extreme lengths to achieve them – you will have to strive through difficulties and discomforts consistently without backing down.
Mental toughness is something you can develop if you are willing to go to great lengths. Many people think that when it comes to mental toughness, you either have it or you don’t, that’s just not true. You can build mental toughness just like you can build physical strength. Imagine someone saying “Physical strength, you either have it or you don’t.” That’s ridiculous. The same goes for mental toughness.
Here are some concrete steps you can take to build mental toughness as a lacrosse player:
- Determine your ultimate goal in lacrosse and shoot high
- Commit yourself to going all-out and giving everything to achieve this goal. Do this by writing a statement that you are all-in no matter what, then sign it, date it and post it somewhere you will see it every day.
- Practice pushing through difficulties by doing something daily to leave your comfort zone. Some examples are: An extremely difficult lift, like the “300 lift”, practicing tough game scenarios like being down by 1 with a minute left – repeat until you score, target tough competition – challenge your toughest teammates in competitive 1-on-1 drills, take a 10 minute cold shower in the winter, the list goes on. If you get a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach, it’s probably a good challenge to take-on.
- Visualize yourself overcoming adversity in games
If you implement these strategies, you will be well on your way to becoming a mentally tough lacrosse player and person off the field.