What is the biggest hurdle for student mentally tough athletes that holds them back from performing and achieving their best?

When an athlete is experiencing a lot of things that are too much for him/her to handle they become overwhelmed, it easily affects their performance, either in school, sports or in other aspects of their life.

Sometimes, this overwhelm of life causes him/her to give up or perform less in all areas and their response will depend on how mentally tough they are?

Today we are featuring Part 7 of a series of interviews with Raven Magwood, a teenage author, motivational speaker, and TV talk show host.

In this video, Raven will share with us how mental toughness has helped her in overcoming factors that hinder her in achieving her goals.

Clearly there are problems that come along when you can not muster the mental strength you need.

We get it, as a student athlete there is so much that goes on in your life so it is understable. Believe it or not, we’ve all been there.

You might have a job in high school. You might be trying to get that state championship. You might be trying to get on the honor roll. Then you have your family life and all the pressures you have to “be there”, “be responsible”, “contribute” etc.

There is so much that is going on that if you do not have that mental capacity, it can be very easy to give up.

You cannot give up! You are destined for greatness…you simply have to believe it!

It can be easy to not study, when you are supposed to. It can be easy to not go to the practice when you know you should be there to prove your commitment to your coach and your team. The secret to handling this is rather simple…

You need to tell yourself that you can do whatever you put your mind to.

A lot of times you have student athletes you are the same physically. They can all bench press 150. They can all run a 4-6. But all of them are not, mentally equipped, to go to the next level.

That is a hurdle, just like perseverance, it has to be practiced.

You want to practice silencing your mind, reducing stress, focused visualization and more. But you have to start somewhere. That’s why, we recommend that you start convincing yourself that you can do whatever you put your mind to. If you can do THAT, it will be the proof you need to do all the other mental strengthening that will help you be the champion you are destined to be!

If you missed the first Part of this series click here.

To go to the next part of this series click here.

Are you mentally tough, let us know what stops you to be otherwise in comments…

build mental toughnessRaven Magwood is the author of The 7 Practices of Exceptional Student Athletes. As a motivational speaker, Raven started the Student Athlete Pledge in an effort to encourage student athletes to be well –rounded individuals who excel academically, athletically, and professionally.

For more information, visit www.RavenMagwood.com or www.StudentAthletePledge.com.