I've said it before and I'm going to say it again: STOP HAVING HISSY-FITS WHEN MISTAKES ARE MADE! Coaches sound like this: "We just worked on that in practice!" "You gotta make those easy shots!" "What are you doing??!!" "Are you kidding me??!!" "Get your head out of your -ss." Your hissy-fits send this message: It's not ok to make mistakes, especially dumb ones. And when you make a mistake, get ready for my disapproval. Parents sound like this: "Get your head in the game!" "You're better than that!" "Different day, same mistakes!" "I can't f-ing believe it!" What's going on??!!" Your hissy fits send this message: You disappoint me when you make mistakes. And when you make them, you are going to see, hear, and feel my disappointment.
I'm a Mental Toughness Coach and when I work with athletes, they tell me the #1 thing they try to avoid is making mistakes. I ask them why. "Because I don't want to get benched. I don't want to get yelled at. I don't want to feel embarrassed. I don't want to disappoint my parents. I don't want to get lectured on the car ride home." This list goes on and on. Hissy-fits are hindering your athletes/kids growth. Your hissy-fits are causing them to avoid taking risks, causing them to hide from trying new things. Your hissy-fits are hindering their creativity. Your hissy-fits result in them playing it safe and doing the same things they are already good at. Do you want Vanilla or Rocky Road? Vanilla ice-cream has it's place but if you want Rocky Road, you must learn to live with the bumps.
Want to learn how to learn how to eat Rocky Road better? Have a taste of my Mental Toughness Toolkit. There's one for coaches/parents and another for athletes.
