3 Reasons Why Emotional Intelligence Is an Athlete's Secret Weapon

One day, on our way home from swimming practice, my 11-year-old daughter said to me, “You need success more than you need to breathe.” I knew she was a great athlete, but I was surprised by what I heard from her.

Note: This article is from blogger Sarah Kivel, who shares her personal experience with emotional intelligence.

Most of us are amazed at how accomplished athletes like Mia Hamm, Maggie Stephens, and Stephen Curry show their passion on the court and in the pool, as they spend many hours training every day, and they also dedicate themselves and their lives to sports.

We see exceptional athletes everywhere, including on local basketball courts, soccer fields, and swimming pools, in addition to in the professional world. But what distinguishes these high-performance athletes from the rest?

As an athlete and mother of highly competitive athletic kids, I have learned that it takes more than just talent and physical fitness to perform at the best possible level. It requires focus, motivation, commitment, and something we don't hear much about in the sports world: Emotional Intelligence.

Emotional self-awareness, emotional self-control, and a positive outlook are necessary for achieving peak athletic performance.

3 reasons why emotional intelligence is an athlete's secret weapon

1. Earning a Gold Medal Depends on Self-Awareness and a Sense of the Body’s Inner State

An emotionally aware athlete can be aware of their emotions and the effects of those emotions on their athletic performance. They are aware of their emotions, their causes, and how they may or may not help them perform well in competition.

When these emotions are activated, they are often accompanied by changes in the body, such as breathing rate, heart rate, and muscle tension. Also, the insula detects physical changes and relays information to other parts of the brain.

A lesser-known sense called inner body sensation can help you comprehend and feel what is happening inside your body, as an athlete needs to be able to recognize where in the body feelings and emotions are coming from to react to stress healthily.

For example, skilled swimmers must possess the agility of a ballerina, the strength and flexibility of a gymnast, the skills of a fast swimmer and water polo player, the lungs of a diver, and the endurance of a long-distance runner. This is because this sport requires focus, discipline, dedication, and passion.  Typically, 8 athletes are competing as a team, but if one of them experiences a panic attack and is unable to remain underwater, the competition is over, meaning there is no chance of winning a gold medal.

The swimmer can learn to communicate their thoughts and emotions and effectively handle what happens next if they can become aware of how their body feels and notice it before a panic attack starts. The athlete can learn to respond to the rapid heartbeat by noticing that it happens whenever they are stressed and, with practice, they can learn to calm themselves down by actually paying attention to these bodily sensations.

Instead of allowing their mind and body to focus on their rapid heartbeat and the subsequent panic attacks, they may learn to do things like concentrate on their breathing or rate. A skilled, self-aware swimmer can develop the ability to react to any experience that arises and keep control of the outcome with practice. Then, rather than acting hastily, this is what helps them in winning gold medals.

2. Emotional Self-Control Can Be the Difference Between Winning and Losing

When an athlete shows emotional self-control, then they can manage their turbulent emotions more effectively and keep their mind clear and calm. On the other hand, an athlete who lacks emotional self-control may lose control of their emotions or may be unable to return to their normal state after being stimulated, which costs the team losing the competition.

Author Daniel Goleman referred to this as "psychological negativity" in his 1996 book, Emotional Intelligence: Why Does It Matter More Than IQ?

When the amygdala is stimulated, it sends an alarm that releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol into the body to prepare for the fight-or-flight response. Also, psychological negativity shuts down the ability of the prefrontal cortex - a part of the brain - to make logical decisions to understand a stimulus.

In this case, we have little or no opportunity to respond in an effective way, which means an inappropriate response to the stimulus, and we end up feeling regret when we calm down, which is the difference between winning and losing.

Competitive soccer has been an influential and important part of my life since I first started playing in the late 1970s when there were few opportunities for girls in organized sports. I quickly fell in love with soccer and continued to play during my college years at the University of California, Davis. However, one game in my senior year in high school clearly shows why I have continued after more than 30 years.

I played four years of college football and was one of the team's best offensive players. In my senior year, a freshman player joined our team. I recall this player, who I used to call Lucy, directing me and offering advice on how to move and take up my position during a game while we were off the field. As I wanted to tell her directly and sternly not to tell me what to do, my attention shifted away from playing and toward what she was saying. As a result, we lost.

Coaches sometimes lack emotional self-control when they are provoked because of a mistake made by their athlete or a wrong decision by the referee. In one of the water polo matches, the home team was in the lead and they were playing with very few substitute players. However, it appeared as though the athletes were worn out because the visiting team then started to score, and their result was nearly identical to that of the home team.

As a result, the home team's coach began telling his players they would lose, shouting at them loudly, and hitting them all over the pool, which made them swim even more slowly. Instead of giving it their all in the final few minutes of play to hold onto their lead, the home team gave up trying, the whistle blew, and the game ended. Finally, the visitors managed to win the game.

Things can change quickly when we are provoked by someone or something someone says, and the amygdala can take over and destroy any chance of a positive outcome.

3. Possessing a Positive Outlook Pushes the Entire Team to the Next Level

A positive outlook is having an optimistic view of people, situations, and events. Players with a positive outlook continue to achieve their goals, despite all the obstacles and barriers they face, and a coach with a positive outlook can inspire the team to work hard and overcome difficult situations and losses.

There is scientific evidence showing that people with a positive outlook have more activity on the left side of the prefrontal cortex. Other research shows that this area of the brain is closely associated with feeling positive. Also, we have neurons in our brains that reflect the moods of others around us.

For example, we frequently smile back without giving it any thought when someone does. Likewise, the attitude and outlook of the leader or coach can spread quickly. Therefore, there is a good chance that the team will have a positive outlook if the coach does.

Olympic silver medalist Maureen O'Toole Purcell knows well the benefits of a positive outlook; "There are times when things are hard," she says, "but you just have to know that the good will come from the hard things."

Maureen is also a coach, and one of her players says about her, “Maureen motivates us to work hard, and when we make a mistake in a game, she doesn't criticize us; instead, she explains what we can do differently the next time. Also, we won a championship trophy and a silver medal at the Junior Olympics thanks to Maureen's coaching.”

Not only does a positive outlook help an athlete overcome difficult hurdles such as injuries and losses; it helps the team as a whole, as it creates a positive environment that is contagious for the team, and inspires the athletes and the team to work hard. Hard work and motivation lead to the advancement of the athlete and the team to an advanced level of success.

how to become more emotionally intelligent?

It's clear that emotional intelligence makes a huge difference to athletic performance, and we can all learn how to become more emotionally intelligent. Here are three ways you can follow:

1. Notice Your Body's Emotions

You can do a quick body test. Close your eyes and focus your attention on a point at the top of your head, then slowly move to your toes, and notice as you go how each part of the body feels, repeat this process daily.

2. Focus on What Triggers You

What are the things that appear in everyday life that trigger negative feelings? When, where, and with whom do these triggers occur? Take some time to think about these questions and write down your answers.

3. Practice Gratitude

Keep a gratitude journal, write down three things each day that you are grateful for, make some notes, or even tell your coach or teammate what you are grateful for. This practice is like training the mind to look for the good, the more we practice looking for the good in our lives, the more likely we are to develop a positive outlook.