What Bluey Can Teach Athletes About Resilience

Sometimes a pretty good mental-performance lesson can come from an unexpected place.

Like the kids' show Bluey, for instance.

In one episode, Bingo gives Bluey a simple checklist for what to do when things don’t go the way you hoped:

Have a cry.

Pick yourself up.

Dust yourself off.

And keep going.

It’s simple. It’s also a pretty good description of resilience.

For athletes, resilience is sometimes treated like it means not being upset. You had a bad game? Forget about it. Made a mistake? Move on. Lost a race you thought you should win? Don’t let it bother you.

But that’s not really how it works.

Being resilient doesn’t mean you don’t feel disappointment, frustration, embarrassment or anger. Those emotions are real. And when something matters to you, it makes sense that you’re going to feel something when it doesn’t go the way you wanted.

That’s why I love that Bingo’s checklist starts with “Have a cry.”

There’s no pretending everything is fine. There’s no skipping over the emotion.

You acknowledge it.

The key is what happens next.

Resilience Doesn't Mean Ignoring Your Emotions

One of the things we talk about with athletes at Mental Performance Mentors is that you don’t necessarily get to choose the first thought or emotion that shows up.

You do get to choose what you do next.

Maybe you just struck out with runners in scoring position. Maybe you missed two free throws late in a close game. Maybe you ran much slower than you expected. Maybe you double-faulted at the worst possible time.

The frustration might be automatic.

Resilience is what comes after it.

Can you recognize that something is off without allowing that thought or emotion to determine what happens next?

That’s where having a reset routine can help.

How Athletes Can Reset After a Mistake

At MPM, one of the tools we use with athletes is the 3-R Reset: Recognize, Release, Refocus.

The first step is to recognize when something is off. Maybe you’re frustrated. Maybe your body language has changed. Maybe your self-talk has turned negative or your focus is stuck on the mistake you just made.

Once you recognize it, you can begin the process of releasing it and refocusing on what comes next. We teach athletes a simple three-step routine to do that:

• Use a physical action with an association. There's a runner I work with who does this by briefly opening one hand, like she’s releasing the frustration she’s feeling. Another athlete might snap his fingers as if he’s snapping himself out of the negative thought, while a baseball player might unstrap and restrap a batting glove. The specific action isn’t important. What matters is the meaning you attach to it.
• Take a deliberate breath. When possible, you can pair that breath with a focal point—something you look at that helps bring you back to the present moment.
• Use a short verbal cue. It might be “Next play,” “Move on,” “You got this” or whatever words work for you. The purpose is to direct your attention away from what just happened and toward what comes next.

The physical action and breath help you release what just happened. The verbal cue helps you refocus on what’s next.

And the entire routine can take only a few seconds.

In other words:

Have a cry.

Pick yourself up.

Dust yourself off.

And keep going.

Obviously, an athlete isn’t literally going to stop in the middle of a game and have a cry every time something goes wrong. The point is giving yourself permission to experience the emotion without giving that emotion control of everything that follows.

Athletes Can Practice Resilience

We sometimes talk about athletes as if they’re either resilient or they’re not.

I don’t think that’s the best way to look at it.

Resilience is something you can practice.

Every mistake, setback and disappointment gives you another opportunity to practice recognizing your response, releasing what you can’t change and bringing your attention back to what you can control.

And just like any other skill, you’re not going to do it perfectly every time.

Sometimes you’ll reset quickly. Other times, something will stick with you longer than you’d like.

That’s OK.

Recognize it. Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off.

And keep going.

Turns out, Bluey knows a little something about mental performance.

Watch this week's Movie Mindset Monday:

Want to Help Your Athlete Build a Stronger Mental Game?

At Mental Performance Mentors, we help athletes develop practical tools for confidence, resilience and responding to the inevitable ups and downs of competition.

Learn more about MPM coaching or check out our free mental-performance resources.