The Importance of Embracing Imperfection
How do we move on from mistakes in sports? Maybe the more accurate question is ‘Why do we NEED to move on from mistakes?
Mistakes are part of everything we do. I’ve had countless conversations with young athletes about their aspirations to become the perfect player or teammate. Each time, I’ve had to remind them that perfection simply isn’t possible—perfect is not real.
But why do we cling to this belief that perfection is both real and attainable? There are many reasons. One of the most significant is social media. We often see the highlights of people’s lives and interpret them as their reality, with no sad days or slip-ups. We watch ‘highlight plays’ on morning sports shows, seeing players execute skills perfectly to score beautiful goals. What we don’t see are the countless reps where things didn’t go as planned in previous games or practices.
The Impact of Social Media on Perception
We’ve been conditioned to value those who receive the most attention—the influencer with the most followers or the player with the most points or highlight-reel goals. On the other hand, we tend to undervalue those who quietly contribute to their own and others’ success—the player who shows up and does everything necessary to help the team, without being noticed on the scoresheet.
In other words, we admire the people who get the results and want to be like them. Those who don’t get the results are often seen as failures by comparison.
Now, I could go on for a long time about how we’re conditioned to value results over the process, why we think perfect is a good goal to set for ourselves, but let’s jump back to mistakes. If perfect, which is the absence of mistakes or blemishes, is not real, then by definition mistakes are going to present in our process. If we can unlearn our distaste for anything less than perfect, we can learn to see mistakes simply as part of the process—something we can learn from. However, as it stands for many people, mistakes are not acceptable. They are a projection of a deeply buried fear we hold that we are not good enough and never will be. So, when we find ourselves facing a mistake we have made, the results can be catastrophic to our confidence, motivation, inspiration, and engagement.
Simply put: mistakes can be a real problem for forward progress when they should be CATALYSTS.
How Can We Move On from Mistakes in Sports?
WHEN we make mistakes—we have something to learn! Something that should help us move the needle forward towards our ultimate end goal.
So, WHEN (not if) we make a mistake. We have to be able to learn from it which requires 3 things:
- CURIOSITY, not judgement
- UNDERSTANDING
- A PLAN
Curiosity will allow us to look back on what brought us to the mistake. Where was the breakdown in the process? What worked and what did not? This is the only was we figure out what needs to be edited for future attempts.’
Understanding allows us to move from knowledge to impact.
I know what happened→ I know what happened and I know my role in making it happen.
The final piece is having a plan to move from impact to action.
I know what happened and my role in making it happen→ I know what I need to do change to create a new outcome and here’s how I will do it.
This is the formula for forward progress that takes into account that mistakes are, and always will be, part of the equation.
If you’re an athlete looking to cultivate a high-performance mindset, connect with us for a complimentary 30-minute consultation using the link below.
Book a Free ConsultationLauren Williams | High-Performance Coach
