What is resilience?

The most useful way to think about resilience in performance settings is as the ability to manage adversity.  It’s our resistance to challenges, and our ability to bounce back when those setbacks invariably occur.  To be resilient is to see obstacles as challenges, and to see the overcoming of those challenges as a necessary step in the lifelong process of becoming better.

Why is resilience important?

The value of resilience can be found in all sport and life performance.  Even near-perfect performances contain moments of imperfection, and the potential for those moments to create doubt, uncertainty, and negative outcomes.  Resilience keeps perfection from becoming the enemy of persistence.  To struggle is human, but to navigate struggles with flexibility and strength, and to use them to increase focus and motivate positive change, is to be resilient. Among the most targeted attributes for high school and college coaches, amateur and p...

The past few years have been nothing short of challenging for athletes, coaches, and those in sport. As the world seemingly came to a standstill in spring of 2020, athletes and coaches grappled with the unknowns regarding their season plans. Sport psychology providers saw heightened levels of stress, anxiety, and depression for athletes and coaches alike. As a sport psychology consulting firm committed to understanding the intersection of performance and wellness, our team wanted to give athletes everything they needed to be at their best—both mentally and physically. In the fall of 2020 we launched a research project to answer one important question: What are the actions, thoughts, and feelings that athletes need to optimize mental health and performance? As the sports world tries to find its rhythm once again, our team at Premier Sport Psychology is excited to share our research findings. Our findings stem from an online brainstorming, sorting, and rating process with athletes, ...

Five years ago, Nowell lost his dad, grandpa, and uncle over the course of just a few months. As he told KSTP Sports, 'Mental health is an issue, and I've battled for a long time.' But Nowell was courageous enough to seek out help, including most recently with Twin Cities-based sports psychologist, Dr. Justin Anderson. Read full KSTP article here. Watch Q&A with Dr. Anderson here....