Handling Mistakes: Turn Failure Into Fertilizer

The problem arises when feelings result in negative behaviors, attitudes and choices. In a negative mind frame, players often respond with lower motivation, fear and reduced confidence.This only serves to increase the likelihood of making more mistakes. Success in life (and soccer) isn’t dependent so much on what happens to us but rather how we perceive, react and deal with those events.

The facts are simple, if you play soccer, your team will lose some games AND you will make errors, both physical and mental, virtually every time you play. Setbacks and disappointments are part of the game and every player should have a plan in place to deal with those situations positively and productively. Often our greatest saboteurs are not the opponents, scoreboards or coaches but rather, our own inner (and often negative) voice. It is critical that you begin to cultivate the inner winner that lives inside you. Athletes (and teams) should develop a mistake ritual that is practiced consistently and immediately after mistakes. It might include gestures, phrases or thoughts. The key is to focus on things that are under YOUR control. If you focus on the mistake (too much or too long) or if you let emotions get the best of you, you are setting yourself up to make even more errors and be less effective for your team.

The things you have direct control over are arguably the most important factors for success: effort, belief, expectations, commitment to persevere and a focus on individual responsibility. You can keep your work rate high no matter what the score. You can give an all out effort no matter what position you’re in. You can choose to play inspired, disciplined defense even if your offense is on hiatus. You can inspire others with unselfishness and high energy even when your game is lagging.

The key is to immediately and briefly acknowledge the mistake and implement your mistake ritual (you might say “flush it” to remind yourself to let it go, you might wipe your hand across your brow to indicate “no sweat”, you might verbally remind yourself “this play” to get your thoughts back to the present). Mistakes are an opportunity to learn, grow and gain lessons presented by the game. If you view mistakes on the field not as fatal flaws in you or your skills but as challenges to grow as a player, to demonstrate mental toughness and to learn the relevant lesson, then failures can serve as fertilizer for future success. You can then respond with confidence, optimism and control. You have a choice in how you respond to mistakes, in what way and for how long. Make wise choices, ones that are likely to increase your chance for optimal performance. View errors, adversity and loss as opportunities for growth, development and change.

Create and consistently use “mistake rituals” Consider using the 3 F’s

1. “Fudge” (or whatever word you choose!): it allows you to acknowledge the error and briefly vent
2. Fix: analyze the error, quickly determine the cause and implement your planned response
3. Focus: get your attention on the ‘here and now’. Use a refocusing word or phrase to focus on your immediate performance

Choose positive, productive strategies

a. Extract the performance or competitive lesson
b. Use "failure as fertilizer"
Practice, practice, practice (demonstrate mental toughness and resilience after errors both in practice and games)
Focus on your strengths and on factors under your control (work rate, effort, team support)