Yuvraj Singh’s journey is an exemplary display of Mental Resilience. It wasn’t the sixes or the match-winning performances alone that defined him as a mentally tough athlete—it was his ability to rise above one of life’s most daunting challenges: cancer. His battle with the disease mirrored a superhero’s rise from the ashes, transforming not only his life but also inspiring countless others with his perseverance.
Resilience is more than just bouncing back; it’s about growing stronger, adapting, and thriving in the face of adversity. This is where mental training comes into play. Just as physical training strengthens muscles, mental training builds the inner strength required to face life’s hurdles head-on. By focusing on techniques such as mindfulness, positive self-talk, and goal-setting, athletes can cultivate the resilience they need to overcome setbacks.
At MyMentalCoach, we help athletes develop this very skill. Resilience is not just a trait—it’s a muscle you can build with the right guidance and practice. Through structured mental training, athletes can learn to process challenges, harness their inner strength, and emerge stronger, just as Yuvraj Singh did.
So, how can we access resilience in our daily lives? It’s about maintaining a growth mindset, being adaptable, and seeing obstacles as opportunities for growth. And it all starts with committing to regular mental training. Whether you’re an athlete or facing personal challenges, building resilience will empower you to thrive, no matter the odds.
As a Sports Psychologist in Pune, working at MyMentalCoach and applying principles of Sports Psychology, we help athletes and individuals explore these questions. Resilience isn’t just about bouncing back—it’s about training your brain to grow stronger through adversity.
What is Resilience?
Simply put, resilience is the ability to pick yourself back up in times of adversity and challenges and not quit. It’s the mindset that even if the worst happens you’ll be okay and will be able to move forward.
An example is that of steel; we call Steel Resilient. Even a strong force applied to steel won’t bend it or break it, till a certain point. So any object that doesn’t bend or get affected after any threatening situation, we call it resilient.
I always say we as human beings are naturally resilient. We already have that power within us. But, it can’t be accessed easily. There needs to be a process to access it and strengthen it, just the way steel, although inherently strong, will need to be treated, to make it even more resilient.
When we look at students or elite athletes who consistently want to succeed in their exams or matches, that’s when they need to be consistently resilient. And that is a skill they need to learn because at times our mind is not equipped to be consistently resilient. Building resilience becomes crucial in such situations.
Developing a consistently resilient mindset can make the difference between success and failure.
Can we Build Resilience?
Simply put, yes! you can build resilience with mental training. Resilience has to be built and developed over time. This means we have to figure out how to get resilient. As such, we can increase our resilience by making small but steady lifestyle changes and by using resilience strategies, this is what is taught while you are trained for mental training, by a sports psychologist near you.
The development of resilience is similar to that of a muscle through regular exercise. It’s a skill that develops with repeated use, so the more objectives you accomplish, the more robust you become.
Is it Difficult to Build Resilience?
Even though it can be difficult to develop resilience since one must give up all of their unhealthy coping mechanisms and adopt new thought and behavior patterns, it is undoubtedly achievable. It requires patience, hard work, and a readiness to change.
How can we Build Resilience?
Here are the 5 strategies that’ll help you build resilience:
- Resilience is a Choice
Resilience is the art of embracing life’s challenges as opportunities for growth. Instead of seeing setbacks as insurmountable roadblocks, view them as stepping stones to a brighter future.
For example, think of how Thomas Edison faced thousands of failures before successfully inventing the light bulb. Each failure brought him one step closer to his goal.
- Resilience is a Commitment
Acknowledging that resilience is a part of your journey. Once you accept this you are going to embrace those challenges. Resilience is not about controlling external circumstances, but it’s about controlling your reaction to them. When faced with adversity, take a moment to breathe, reflect, and choose a response that aligns with your goals and values.
A great example is Malala Yousafzai, who, after surviving an attack by the Taliban, continued her advocacy for girls’ education, demonstrating incredible resilience and a commitment to her cause.
- Developing a Practice Plan
Prepare for challenges by developing your practice in alignment with them. Cultivate a mindset geared towards understanding and be ready to bounce back with resilience.
In the face of difficulty, having a clear plan can provide direction and motivation. Consider soldiers engaging in simulation drills during their training to simulate real-life scenarios, providing them insight into how their minds will respond in those situations. In the same way, elite athletes and students also need to have a plan ready for anticipatory stressful situations.
- Accepting Success and Failure as a Part of Your Journey
I know you must be thinking “whatta a cliche!” But believe me, it’s one thing to say it and another thing to go through that failure. I’m saying that because failures have an emotion, they are of course something that makes us question ourselves, give us sleepless nights, and whatnot. But in those dark times when our negative thoughts overwhelm us in those times a resilient mindset is going to stop those thoughts, it helps us come back to a positive mental state.
Neeraj Chopra, India’s Olympic gold medalist in javelin throw, demonstrated a growth mindset by overcoming challenges and refining his technique. He actively sought guidance from coaches, adapted his training methods, and embraced new strategies to enhance his performance on the global stage.
Read this article by The American Psychological Association which tells us about empirically proven methods to “Build your Resilience”.
- Learn the process of becoming more Resilient
Consult a Mental Conditioning Coach, if you don’t want to do a trial and error in building the critical mental resilience to achieve the success you are striving for.
A Mental Conditioning Coach will help you build a process that will help you develop resilience in the shortest way possible. At MyMentalCoach, we believe resilience to be a process that can be learned by a student or an elite athlete. Develop a Resilient Mindset from the best in the business to become the best that you truly can be!
In conclusion, Resilience is a critical component of success. Without Mental Resilience, it is difficult to handle the challenges that come in the way of your dreams and the simplest way to be mentally resilient is to have a process that you can apply, whenever faced with a challenging situation, to help you navigate the rough waters and get the happiness and success you truly deserve!
At MyMentalCoach, we believe resilience to be a process that can be learned by a student or an elite athlete. Therefore we have created a step-by-step process for you to become the best version of yourself.
Step 1: Self-discovery for an athlete or a student; we help you understand your mindset. Only when you understand your thinking patterns can you start to alter it or control it.
Step 2: Develop critical thinking through personalized mental coaching. Train your mind, thoughts, and behavior to address your specific weaknesses.
Don’t let self-doubt hold you back! Download our free E-book on Self-belief in Athletes and discover how MyMentalCoach can equip you with the tools to manage stress and perform at your best.
Success Story
“A cricket player who came to us a year from today was very emotionally scared whenever during training or matches she did not perform according to her expectations she used to get extremely stressed and that affected her daily functioning. But now when we see her playing at VCCA tournaments we see a completely improved version of her. Now she’s developed excellent resilience and understands this is part and parcel of the game. She bounces back from failures and focuses on her next step because she believes in herself and her inherent ability to be a good player. Which is why she’s getting even better scores and success. This is creating a natural improvement in her game, her strike rates, average scores, and success scores have gone up. She is now the captain of the team.”
Stories like these give us goosebumps every time and your happy faces inspire us to continue doing what we are doing.
A word from the writer to the reader, “It is fine to be disheartened but it’s not fine to let that feeling change your belief system, nobody can take the talent that you inherently have, and once you start training your mind with small changes from the way you look at things you will bounce back.”
