Mental Skills Development

Benefits of Mental Skills Development

The transition into life after sport is one that can be accompanied by a number of big and potentially overwhelming emotions. For those who have identified strongly with their athletic role, the transition can be accompanied by a period of grief and distress as we work through the loss of our identities (Cecić Erpič, Wylleman, & Zupančič, 2004; Giannone, Haney, Kealy, & Ogrodniczuk, 2017; Martin, Fogarty, & Albion, 2014). The transition can also bring up feelings of reduced self-esteem and self-worth if the transition has come due to reasons outside of our control, or if we have not had time to prepare for the transition (Lally, 2007). All of these feelings are normal and part of major transitions in life. However, we may not be equipped with the necessary skills to cope with these feelings, especially if we have not encountered them previously (Smith & McManus, 2009; Torregrosa, Ramis, Pallarés, Azócar, & Selva, 2015). There are a number of mental skills activities that an athlete can engage in to help prepare for and cope with the transition into post-sport life. 

Gratitude

The act of expressing thankfulness for the people, things, and accomplishments in one’s life and the benefits they have reaped from them is known as practicing gratitude (Gabana, Steinfeldt, Wong, Chung, & Svetina, 2018). Gratitude can be practiced in a number of ways. It can be as simple as acknowledging feelings of thankfulness throughout the day, or as structured as keeping a daily gratitude journal. 

Practicing gratitude has been shown to have a number of positive benefits on an individual’s well-being. Engaging in gratitude has been linked to an increase of positive emotions, better coping and problem-solving skills, increased life satisfaction, as well as decreased distress, depression, and anxiety (Chen, Wu, & Chang, 2016; Gabana et al., 2018). Gratitude has also been correlated with an individual’s ability to see and utilize available resources, while improving perceptions of social support (Gabana et al., 2018).

Self-Care

Self-care is the practice of actively and intentionally engaging in activities that promote overall wellness and support mental health. For athletes in transition, self-care can be an integral part of adapting to post-sport life (Stellefson, Wang, Apperson, Bopp, & Zhang, 2019). Self-care includes activities that promote physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being (Butler, 2019). It includes quality rest time and healthy relationships, as well as healthy eating and sleeping practices, and activities that aid in reducing stress (Heemstra, 2019).

Goal Setting

For athletes, goal setting is often a common practice. Setting and planning for athletic goals is likely a large part of what contributed to your success in sport. Goal setting is also applicable in life beyond sport and can be integral in providing a sense of control over the next part of life. Goal setting can help us gain confidence in our ability to adapt to post-sport life, provide clear direction of where we want to be going in our life, and demonstrate how we will get there (Martin et al., 2014). 

Mindfulness

Mindfulness, or the act of bringing awareness to the present moment in a non-judgemental way, has been shown to improve psychological well-being. Mindfulness can be used in a number of ways to help in grounding and potentially minimizing stress and anxiety, while bringing awareness to what is driving feelings (Josefsson et al., 2017). Mindfulness is also linked with improving gratitude and overall life satisfaction (Chen et al., 2016).