The champion mentality: learn, adjust, advance

Patrick Mouratoglou is a tennis coach who has followed champions, including the greatest champion in history, Serena Williams. And yet, as he'll tell you, even this all-conquering sportswoman was afraid every time she stepped onto a court. Fear of failure is always in the human mind, even in the greatest. The difference lies in their attitude to what comes next.

For him, it's all about self-confidence. When self-confidence is at its lowest, it's easy to become paralyzed by fear. The idea, then, is to set small, achievable goals that will lead to victories that will fuel confidence for bigger goals over time.

You also have to learn to fail. In his experience, champions learn from failures not to feel guilty, but to point out what they didn't do well or didn't do right, so that they can remember it in the future. Indeed, he was fascinated to see that Serena, for example, always set herself the next goal immediately after a triumph. She didn't dwell on what she'd just achieved.

Finally, the question of emotions is important. Beware of acting or speaking on the spur of strong emotion. In the case of his position as coach, he knows that succumbing to anger could lead to words that would destroy a player rather than encourage him or her for the future. The key is to identify what the emotion is saying and then formulate objectives in line with what has been learned.

Running time: 13min21

Image : Christiane de Pixabay