Mastering the Mindset: Threat vs. Challenge Body Response

This powerful mindset shift turns athletes from fearful and passive to confident and aggressive. It’s all about how you perceive big moments and high-pressure situations. Do you perceive them as a threat or as a challenge? How we view them will determine our response both physiologically in our body and psychologically in our mind. The way our body responds to fear and excitement is scientifically proven to be the same. It all comes down to how we perceive the feelings in our body (high heart rate, butterflies, etc.). Start approaching high-pressure moments as a challenge that you can handle, not a threat to your well-being.

Know that if you perceive these times as a threat you will have more self-doubt, more stress and you will be playing tight and tense. But on the other hand, if you perceive these moments as a challenge, with a “bring it on” mindset, this will bring about a sense of calm confidence and you will be playing free and loose.

The best of the best athletes view these uncomfortable, high-pressure moments as a challenge to overcome and an opportunity to show everyone what they are made of.

Remember: Challenge response = free and loose. Threat response = tight and tense.