Become Comfortable being Uncomfortable

The fear of failure is real, but often we let it control our lives. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone and become comfortable being uncomfortable.

The fear of failure is real. Growing up, I used to be so scared to make the smallest mistake in a game or practice. Because of this, I ended up playing scared or timid in certain situations. I would put so much pressure on myself to perform well, that I began to think I had a terrible training if I made a bad pass or missed a pass. It took a while, but after some time, I began to realize that these thoughts were all in my head, and this is something I want young athletes to realize.

No one cares if you make a bad pass, no one cares if you miss a goal and more importantly, no one cares if you mess up. What is important, is how you respond to it. Turned the ball over? Ok, play good defense and win it back. Missed a goal? Ok, forget about it and score the next one. In life and especially in sport, we become so hyper focused on our mistakes that we change our behavior. Not only does this hurt our creativity, but it hinders our development. It may seem like the best option to you to keep doing what’s comfortable, but then how will you know what you’re capable of?

My biggest piece of advice for any younger athlete is to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and become comfortable being uncomfortable. Try out that new skill you just learned, practice a different position, add an extra rep in your running if it’s getting easy. Embrace mistakes you make as part of your journey to getting better instead of fearing them.