Post-race interviews at the recent Olympics revealed just how key mindset is to performance under pressure. The good news is anyone can build up this kind of resilience.
Olympic gold medallist Jessica Fox said she entered a quiet place in her mind before her race in the canoe slalom in Paris. "Be myself. Let it be. Be free," she told herself.
Silver medallist in the 400m freestyle Elijah Winnington said in a post-race interview that his coach's pre-race advice was "Think of this as Disneyland."
When asked about the weight of expectation on her after the 1500m semi-final, Jessica Hull - who went on to win silver - replied, "Personally, I'm not really looking at it as expectation. It's like this is the greatest our event has ever been and to be someone who's positioned as a medal contender it's like truly the most lucky position to be in. It's not an expectation, it's an opportunity."
Even the GOAT US gymnast Simone Biles could be seen mouthing "You've got this" to herself before starting her routines.
UNSW's Associate Professor Justine Gatt, an expert in wellbeing and resilience research, says the types of strategies these athletes used are ones we can all adopt to increase our wellbeing, which in turn improves our resilience.
"Resilience isn't a trait or a behaviour, it's a process that can be developed and strengthened over time. It involves drawing on internal resources, such as coping strategies, as well as external resources like social support and a healthy lifestyle.
"It's about having the right tools to deal with life's challenges," says A/Prof Gatt.
For the Olympians, the challenge was to perform well on a world stage in an event they had been working towards for years. For other people, the challenge might be exams, or a job interview, or coping with change.
A/Prof. Gatt, who is Director of the Centre for Wellbeing, Resilience and Recovery and Head of the Gatt Resilience Group at Neuroscience Research Australia and UNSW's School of Psychology, has developed a wellbeing scale - COMPAS-W.
It measures six key factors that boost wellbeing: composure, own-worth, mastery, positivity, achievement and satisfaction. And as our wellbeing increases, so does our resilience.
