If you’re an athlete looking to elevate your game or a coach striving to bring out the best in your players, today’s blog post is a game-changer for performance enhancement. Before diving in, be sure to catch up on our mini-series listed below:

1. The Biggest Hurdle for an Athlete: Needing Approval
2. The 59% Reality: Embracing Self-Worth When Approval Isn't Universal
3. Mirror Method: A Step to Freedom from Approval-Seeking
4. What Not How: Turning Your Coach Into A Resource Rather Than A Source of Interference
5. Choking: And How “Outcome Focus” Creates It

The Key to Performing in the Clutch: Focus on the Controllables

In our last post, we uncovered how focusing on the outcome—and seeking external approval—creates anxiety that can hinder performance and lead to choking. When your mind is consumed with results rather than what you need to do to succeed, you increase the likelihood of falling short. This happens because when you focus on things you can’t control, like the outcome of a game, your anxiety rises, and performance declines.

The solution? Shift your focus to your skills—the controllable aspects of your game that drive success.

Focus on the Controllables: Your Skills

Choking happens when you fixate on the outcome—something beyond your control—and attach your self-worth to it. The way to combat this is by shifting your attention to what you can control during your performance: your skills. Focusing on your skills is critical because they are within your control, helping to lower anxiety and improve performance. These skills are also the key inputs that drive success.

I categorize these into three types: Physical, Mental/Emotional, and Spiritual Skills.

Physical Skills

Physical skills are the techniques that help you execute specific tasks in your sport. For example:

• Golf: Keeping your eyes down, maintaining a straight front arm, and using an easy tempo.
• Soccer: Utilizing close touches for dribbling, a balanced plant foot for shooting, and precise ball-to-foot contact for passing.
• Basketball: Keeping your eyes on the rim, following through on your shot, and ensuring strong box-outs.
• Football: Quarterbacks focusing on “Load the Football” or offensive linemen executing a “Quick First Step.”

Take golf, for example. Instead of stressing about hitting a perfect shot down the fairway and worrying about how others perceive your performance, redirect your focus to the controllable aspects of your swing (AKA your "Skills"):

1. Keeping your eyes down
2. Maintaining a straight front arm
3. Using an easy tempo

When you do this, two key benefits emerge:

1. Your mind stays focused on what you can control, reducing anxiety.
2. You concentrate on the inputs that create a good swing, increasing your chances of a successful shot.

Mental & Emotional Skills

Your mindset plays a critical role in clutch performance. Here are key mental and emotional skills we’ve covered in previous posts:

• Control the Controllable – Keep your mind on what you can influence, not what you can’t.
• Take Nothing Personally – Recognize that external criticism or pressure is a reflection of others, not of your worth.
• What, Not How – Focus on the content of coaching feedback rather than the way it is delivered.
• State What You Want – Train your mind to focus on the actions you want to execute, not the mistakes you want to avoid.

Spiritual Skills

We’ll touch on some spiritual skills like “clearing” in future posts, but an example of a spiritual skill for some athletes is prayer. For some athletes, spiritual or mindfulness practices serve as powerful tools for focus and resilience which can help clear mental clutter and fosters a sense of purpose and inner calm before competition.

The Paradox of Performance

One of the most crucial concepts in sports psychology is understanding the paradox of performance:

• Less is More – The LESS you focus on the outcome, the MORE of the outcome you desire you''ll get. (AKA focus on your "Skills")
• More is Less – The MORE you obsess & focus on the outcome, the LESS of the outcome you desire you'll get. 

By directing attention to your skills, rather than the outcome and  external pressures, you naturally enhance your performance and reduce anxiety.

Mind Strength Workout for the Week

This week, take the time to identify the key physical skills in your sport that contribute to your peak performance. Use the examples below as a starting point:

• Football:
• Quarterbacks: “Eat the Burger,” “Load the Football,” “Hitch in Place.”
• Offensive Line: “Quick First Step,” “Head Up, Get Depth,” “Aggressive Punch.”
• Skill Positions: “Ball to Glove,” “High & Tight,” “Knees Over Toes.”
• Golf: “Eyes Down,” “Straight Front Arm,” “Easy Tempo.”
• Tennis: “Feather Feet,” “Ball to Racket,” “Follow Through.”
• Basketball: “Eyes on Rim,” “Follow Through,” “Block Out.”
• Baseball: “A$$ to the Grass” (fielding), “Load the Bat” (hitting), “Bat to Ball.”
• Soccer: “Close Touches,” “Balanced Plant Foot,” “Ball to Foot.”
• Running: “Hands to Pocket,” “90-Degree Arms,” “Knee Drive.”

Final Thought

The best athletes aren’t just physically skilled—they know how to control their focus under pressure. By shifting your mindset from outcome-based thinking to skill-based execution, you’ll naturally reduce anxiety and improve performance when it matters most.

Stay tuned for next week’s post, where we’ll explore how to properly “code” our skills for practice and competition, ensuring they become second nature in high-pressure moments.

“Focus on outcome = Focusing on things you can’t control and anxiety goes up. Instead, focus on your performance and the skills you can control = anxiety goes down & performance increases.” – Craig Manning