When Australian tennis player Ash Barty won Wimbledon, she credited her ‘mindset coach,’ Ben Crowe, with getting her to world number one. Likewise, when the incredible Emma McKeon reflected on the steps that contributed to her staggering six medal haul in the pool at the Tokyo Games, she talked about time with a psychologist as leading to essential breakthroughs...

Mental strength is something that’s talked about a lot in elite sport, but until recently there was very little compassion for when it faltered. I remember watching the rowing in the Athens Olympics in 2004 when rower Sally Robbins stopped paddling near the end of the women’s eight race, and the Australian team feel into last place. Her team mates were furious, but that was nothing compared to the thrashing she got in the press. The headlines read “Lay-Down Sally.” The critics labeled her as weak. No-one asked what went wrong… or how could she have been better supported so that it didn’t all fall apart when it mattered most? Compare that to Simone Biles pulling out of the US Gymnastics team. She was praised for having the courage to make a very tough choice.   

Athletes are constantly grappling with mental agility. It’s widely accepted wisdom now that their inner-narrative—and how well they can bounce back from a loss, maintain focus and keep perspective—can be what sets them apart when everyone is training hard. And one reason is because competitive sport, by design, puts competitors under a huge amount of pressure. When Jess Fox won Gold at the Tokyo Olympics in the C1 canoe slalom, she reflected that in her first event she succumbed to stress (and didn’t place). But in the second, she embraced the pressure (and won gold). 

Building a career, in many ways, is about adjusting to pressure. Specifically, the issue with pressure often comes up when we are considering our next step. A good friend recently struggled with this exact problem: “Do I stay where I am, in a job that I know I can do, with management I understand and who trust me to get the job done? Or do I step into something unknown, that is more profitable and will stretch me, but with pressure points that I cannot predict?” 

These questions can become especially hard to navigate when there is a lot on the line. This might be the pressure of outgoings, like mortgage repayments and school fees. Or for many women I know, it’s also a question of whether a step up or even across will upset the delicate balance they have managed to strike between work and home-life. What if you find yourself with a boss who has no boundaries, or a workload that prevents you from making after-school pick-up? What if you can’t adjust to the pressure?

The way Ben Crowe approaches the minds of elite sportspeople is not telling them they are the best, which is what I was expecting to hear. Instead, he encourages them to see themselves as vulnerable. This may sound counter-intuitive, but it works. We’ve certainly been told to show our vulnerability at work by insightful thought-makers like Brene Brown, but this idea takes it a step further. He tells his clients to see themselves as vulnerable. “There is no situation where you are a loser and everyone has their life together,” he said in a recent ABC Conversations. “What you realise through pattern recognition is that everyone is struggles.” He urges his clients to show themselves more compassion. And to accept that while they don’t have all the answers, they are worthy of going on a journey to extract whatever gifts they have within them. 

And his ideas translate: he recently held a workshop with teenagers, addressing the importance of “calling bullshit on perfectionism” and being able to say “I am enough.” He encouraged them to draw on words that remind them they are the best version of themselves—rather than the best—when they feel nervous before a race or an exam. In other words, when they feel pressure. My friend ultimately turned down the opportunity and stayed where she was, which felt right. But perhaps next time, an inner-pep-talk that feels true would have helped. A healthy perspective is no guarantee that a new job or promotion will be perfect, it does mean that you have a mindset that better allows you to thrive.