{"id":3155,"date":"2013-09-26T16:14:41","date_gmt":"2013-09-26T16:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports_psychology_blog\/?p=3155"},"modified":"2025-06-12T05:40:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:40:50","slug":"athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Athletes Who Avoid Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/football-mentality-avoid-mistakes.jpg\" alt=\"Avoid Mistakes\" class=\"wp-image-6114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/football-mentality-avoid-mistakes.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/football-mentality-avoid-mistakes-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fear_of_Failure\"><\/span>Fear of Failure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Article Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure\/#Fear_of_Failure\" >Fear of Failure<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure\/#The_Fear_Driven_Mindset\" >The Fear Driven Mindset<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure\/#Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\" >Related Sports Psychology Articles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure\/#The_Fearless_Athlete\" >The Fearless Athlete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>One of the signs of fear of failure is an athlete who worries too much about making mistakes. If you (or your athletes) do this, you perform cautiously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this mindset, athletes try to avoid mistakes and not lose. You&#8217;re stuck in what we call a &#8220;fear driven mindset.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The golfer tries not to hit the ball in the water. The skater avoids falling on her jumps. The tennis player avoids double faulting on serve. The batter avoids striking out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ironically, fear causes you to focus on what you don&#8217;t want to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your mindset if driven by tension, indecision, and carefulness&#8230; None of these help you perform well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When performing tentatively, your body is not free to react and get into a flow. You cannot execute your skills the way you trained yourself to do. Worrying about mistakes leads to a lack of trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you&#8217;re focused on avoiding mistakes, you&#8217;re not focused in the present. Your mind might be racing ahead to the outcome of the game. A basketball player might focus on not missing a shot for fear of causing his team to lose the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The key is to focus on what you want to do instead of what you want to avoid doing. I call this a success driven mindset in <a class=\"validation-enabled valid-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-fearless-athlete-cd-program\/\"><strong>The Fearless Athlete CD program<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s an example:<b><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Fear_Driven_Mindset\"><\/span>The Fear Driven Mindset<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I feel like I need to be perfect in today&#8217;s game so my coach will put me in as a regular starter.&#8221;<b><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Success Driven Mindset<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I know if I work my game plan and focus on one play at a time, I&#8217;ll feel confident and succeed.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another key is to understand the ultimate fear behind your mindset. Most athletes try to avoid mistakes because they don&#8217;t want to disappoint their teammates, parents, coach, or feel like a failure. They worry too much about what others will think or do&#8230;<b><br><\/b><br><b>Stop the Mind Reading!<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your first step is to stop focusing on others&#8217; expectations for you. If you start to think about disappointing others, you want to stop yourself right away. It&#8217;s not relevant to helping you execute the next play, shot, or pitch.<b><br><\/b><br>If you want to learn all my strategies for overcoming Fear of Failure and Perfectionism, check out this program: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-fearless-athlete-cd-program\/\"><span class=\"validation-enabled valid-link\"><span style=\"font-size: 15px;\">The Fearless Athlete<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\"><\/span>Related Sports Psychology Articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/fear-of-failure-in-perfectionist-athletes\/\"><strong>Fear of Failure in Perfectionist Athletes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/turning-athletic-failure-into-growth-and-learning\/\"><strong>Turning Athletic Failure Into Growth and Learning<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-elite-triathletes-overcome-failure\/\"><strong>How Elite Triathletes Overcome Failure<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-dca36a64-5c8f-4fcf-8dfb-da8bd663e456\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-370496de-1ed7-41e2-a009-254e9ec866b2\"><strong>Download a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/mental-toughness-report-athletes\/\">free sports psychology report<\/a>&nbsp;to improve your mental game!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"block-af5321a1-562b-4266-b2e9-068b5b1e1556\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sport-psychology-training-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Fearless_Athlete\"><\/span>The Fearless Athlete <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/fearless-athlete-large.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4435\" style=\"width:213px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/fearless-athlete-large.jpg 540w, https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/fearless-athlete-large-270x300.jpg 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>For the last two decades, I\u2019ve been working with athletes and helping them optimize their physical ability by teaching them the secrets of top performing athletes. Now, you too can <strong>learn how to regain that child-like fearless attitude.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mental toughness is what separates the winner<\/strong> from the loser in any competition. Champion athletes train hard in practice, perform without fear in competition, and trust their skills in crunch-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Fearless Athlete program<\/strong> is ideal for any athlete that wants to overcome fear of failure and uncover inhibiting perfectionistic traits; or for any coach or parent who wants to teach athletes to perform with trust and freedom in competition.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-d86f0f1f\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-15746978 gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-fearless-athlete-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-5e1cf75e gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/the-confident-athlete-series-digital-download\/products\/the-fearless-athlete-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fear of Failure One of the signs of fear of failure is an athlete who worries too much about making mistakes. If you (or your athletes) do this, you perform cautiously. In this mindset, athletes try to avoid mistakes and not lose. You&#8217;re stuck in what we call a &#8220;fear driven mindset.&#8221; The golfer tries not to hit &#8230; <a title=\"Athletes Who Avoid Mistakes\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/athletes-who-avoid-mistakes-and-fear-of-failure\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Athletes Who Avoid Mistakes\">Sport Psychology Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,142],"tags":[498,705,1025],"class_list":["post-3155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fear-of-failure-in-sports","category-sports-psychology-tips","tag-fear-of-failure-in-sports","tag-fearless-athlete","tag-mistakes-in-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.6.2 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the signs of fear of failure is an athlete who worries too much about making mistakes. 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