As individuals and sportsmen/sportswomen, the most common problem faced mentally is the fear of failure. Let’s face it, we all want to perform with confidence and have an influence on other athletes or people around us and produce great results.

This is why it is much easier to deal with insecurities, fears, anxieties and apprehensions when your mindset is automated, relying on skills that you have honed to generate great performance.

Because of that, you can act more effectively when your mindset funnel is set up to process feelings, thoughts and behaviours. It doesn’t matter the size of the setback, just having a funnel and process to deal with negative and restricting thoughts for your mindset is key.

These two diagrams highlight a funnel for failure and how thoughts & behaviours manifest themselves in an athlete and a recovery pyramid to help to overcome the fear of failure.
By using the recovery model (especially identifying your ‘main pain point’), you can rebuild confidence and implement strategies to intercept negative thoughts and feelings.

Unpack your pain points to overcome failure. Failure plays its part in helping us learn and develop into successful athletes and individuals. However, failure also can damage and restrict a positive mindset, especially when others can also be affected. This is why we must concentrate only on our own performance and recognise the reasons and pain points that impair our thought processes and mentality.

The two diagrams below demonstrate a great way of uncovering your main pain point/s from a failure funnel. Try the exercise pattern of the diagrams, using your own experiences and thought processes.

Remember, the key formula that Ray Dalio brought us…….. PAIN + REFLECTION = PROGRESS

Create your plan for performance using the Positive Pyramid from the top of the page and these diagrammatic processes (below) for identifying the main point that you will need to address.