Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Novak Djokovic is widely acknowledged to have one of the strongest mindsets of any athlete who has ever played sports. His emphasis on mindset training has helped him to become a legend of tennis. Consider the stats: Djokovic has won more grand slam tournaments (24) than any other men’s player and has been ranked number 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals for a record 428 weeks.
It is extraordinary, then, to hear that Djokovic faces a battle for confidence every time he steps onto the court. In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Djokovic admitted his fears. “I may appear locked in, but trust me, there’s a storm inside, and the biggest battle is within. You have your doubts and fears. I feel it every single match.”
One of the challenges that people who seek to improve their mindset face is this false perception that people who are mentally tough have no fears. When the inevitable fear does creep in, these people start to doubt themselves, believingthat if they were truly strong, they would have no fear.
Djokovic addressed this in the interview. “I don’t like this kind of mindset that I see in sports, ‘Just think positive thoughts, be optimistic, there is no room for failure, there is no room for doubts,’ stuff like that.”
Djokovic’s point is that this attitude dismisses the fact that we all naturally face self-doubts. His opinion is backed by scientific study. According to the National Science Foundation, the average person has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those, 80% are negative. That’s a lot of self-doubt!
So, if we all have self-doubts, including champions, what’s different about their mindset? According to Djokovic, it’s the ability to quickly reset and put those natural doubts to rest.
He said, “The difference, I guess, between the guys who are able to be biggest champions, and the ones that are struggling to get to the highest level is the ability to not stay in those (negative) emotions for too long. So, for me, it’s really relatively short. So as soon as I experience it, I acknowledge it. I maybe, you know, burst. I scream on the court, whatever happens. But then I’m able to bounce back and reset.”
Ok, got it, reset. But how do you do that? There are a few simple things you can do when you’re on stage and doubt starts to creep in.
Breathe and then smile! Taking long, deep breaths through your nose and exhaling from your mouth will calm down your nervous system and allow you to focus better. As you calm your nerves, also take a brief moment to look around and remind yourself how cool it is that you get to play a sport you love.
Stay present and don’t be attached to the outcome. Worrying about how the game will turn out is counterproductive. Just try and put all your focus on the task at hand and make the very next moment the best you can. Take it one step at a time. Knowing you are giving it your best creates peace, allowing you to accept the outcome, whatever it might be.
Give yourself grace. Remind yourself that in every game, everyone has moments of failure. No one is perfect, and neither are you. As an example, another tennis great, Roger Federer, once pointed out that he lost 45% of the points in all the matches he played. That’s a lot of failures! But, even with all those failures, he won 80% of his matches.
That’s the reset Djokovic was referring to.
You can and will get better at doing this, but you have to consciously work on it. This is what Djokovic did – and it turned out pretty good for him!
