As an athlete striving for peak performance, sharpening your mental toughness is as crucial as refining your physical skills. Within these eight quotes you’ll read below, it is obvious that some of the most successful athletes in their respective sports understand the mindset and mental toughness are an integral aspect of an athlete’s training journey.

These mental toughness quotes serve as reminders that facing challenges setbacks, and emotions head-on is an important and inevitable part of the game. By acknowledging and embracing these situations, athletes can develop a resilient mindset, where they can find themselves well-prepared to take on adversity within their sport and emerge stronger on the other side, and avoid failure.

Eight mental toughness quotes from athletes who have played at the highest level, on perspective, attitude, brain power and competitive toughness:

What you need to play hockey is heart and determination, and the ability to stay mentally strong. Mental strength beat physical strength any day. - Phil Esposito

What you are thinking, what shape your mind is in, is what makes the biggest difference of all. - Willie Mays

Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift. - Chris Evert

The most important attribute a player must have is mental toughness. - Mia Hamm

Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.- Bill Russell

The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight. ― Arthur Ashe

What separates great players from the good ones is not so much ability as brain power and emotional equilibrium- Arnold Palmer

Nothing is won on your first shift and nothing is lost on your first shift, so it's about keeping things in perspective.- Joe Thornton

When you consider mindset training, or mental toughness training, it’s important to remember that it doesn’t mean learning how to ignore or suppress your emotions. Mentally tough athletes aren’t immune to frustrations, disappointments or anger when something doesn’t go their way in a game.

Instead, it’s learning what to do to help athletes to feel those emotions while still feeling confident and strong enough to perform despite having to feel their ay through those emotions.

No matter how talented an athlete may be, they will most likely always experience:

• what they consider to be a “bad call”

• an injury that sidelines them

• what they perceive to be an unfair amount of playing time from their coach

• teammate or coach disagreements

Athletes that train their mental toughness don’t avoid these scenarios, but by becoming aware of these situations and putting in the work to grow their mindset, they will have a plan in place for when they happen.

Kristin Tullo is a certified strength and conditioning and sports psychology coach that has been working with athletes for ten years. Using her background in Social Work and former athletic career, she now helps athletes maximize their athletic potential through mental and physical strength. Ready to improve your game? Email Coach Kristin to schedule a consultation.