It can happen to the best of us !

        

It's hard to imagine the pressures that our athletes feel and experience. Imagine that you have qualified for the Olympics, your dream and ambitions look like being realised, you put everything into the preparation, bringing yourself to the peak of physical and mental fitness, only to be told you'll have to wait another 12 months before you can compete in something you have been spending the last four years preparing for.

Athletes from all sports have three "stressors" they have to deal with on an ongoing basis, they are,

• Competitive stressors - These come in many forms, injuries or the return of an injury is common, particularly as you near the event, you are prepared and ready, but in the back of your mind, that niggle, that strain or pulled muscle is niggling you and causing doubt. You're in front of a large crowd and you want to perform at your best for them as well as for yourself and your team, but if you have a bad day, the abuse you're sure to receive online cannot be ignored.

• Organisational stressors - These are commonly a change in training regime, whereby your routine is disrupted and your mind starts to worry about the impact of the changes. They can also be issues around the relationship with team mates, coaches and management. These are all area that are somewhat out of your control but have an impact on your physical and mental state of mind.

• Personal stressors - Many people when they watch an athlete expect the best from them, they rarely consider what might be going on in that person's personal life, and yet, as humans, they concern themselves with those stressors, just as you or I would.

So when Simone Biles, the U.S. Gymnast withdrew from the event, people started to condemn, question, but thankfully in many cases, empathise with her decision. Simone was the face of the troubled Olympics in the U.S, the team leader and a person who was still being supported as a survivor of sexual abuse from a former U.S Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. The pressure of the games being delayed, the expectation on her to achieve Gold again, and the face of Team U.S.A was all too much for her to deal with and she finally made the decision to step back and focus on her mental health.

The title of this blog is "It can happen to the best of us" and reading the pressures and expectations on our athletes may not seem relevant to you or I, but I can assure you they are.

Take the three stressors that Athletes face, how many of us can honestly say all of those are not relevant to us. The pressure we all face daily on the expected behaviours, deliverables, family, colleagues, our peers and bosses, are all relevant. We put ourselves under constant pressure to achieve, to be the best wee can be, to provide for ourselves and family and to support and live in an ever changing and demanding world that's 24/7/365.

From Athletes, to C-Class Executives, to employees, to individuals, the stories of Simone, of Naomi Osaka at the French Open, and of Jesse Lingard all ring true and can impact and effect any of us.

Being able to step forward and accept these stressors is a significant feat of achievement, we all worry about how people will perceive us, the weakness of being unable to cope, but the first step to be able to step forward is to receive support. Professional support does not have to come from a GP although they are obviously able to provide support and medication if required. 

A qualified Coach with the ability to support your mental well being as well as the daily goals we set ourselves, can pave the way to being able to own your stressors, to deal with them, to reach out and communicate to friends and family and to be accepted and understood for what we are going through.

With all of my Coaching clients, we always talk about their mental well being, creating time out for themselves, every session we talk about how they are coping with those stressors, its rarely the main topic of the session, but we always find time to check in so that if these stressors ware becoming more apparent, we are able to focus on them and may then dedicate a whole session on getting to the bottom of what's going on in their lives.

Being aware and noticing changes in behaviour, communication, or physical changes, in others or ourselves is the start to understanding and accepting we can all be impacted on our stressors, its how we deal with them, and are supported with them that means we are most likely to come through the other side more aware and able to manage those stressors.

Alan Ball is an International Executive Coach qualified as a Positive Psychologist in Coaching, Stress and Anxiety, Neuro Linguistics programming and runs Rosia Bay, an International Coaching Business.