In a recent article on Olympic skiier, Lindsey Vonn, she was interviewed about how her ability to perform under pressure. She commented how she has grown and developed her confidence. Here’s her quote from Bill Pennington’s article in the New York Times.
Vonn is not naturally introspective. But when I asked her how she has managed to perform successfully under pressure in recent years, especially since stress seemed to undo her in the past, she paused. “Athletics at the highest level is a sport within a sport,” she answered, looking at the ceiling. “When you’re young, you develop ways to win, and you think they will always work, but then you get to the top, competing against the other top athletes, and sometimes things don’t work. You go home and ask yourself what went wrong, and for me the answer was that I didn’t have enough confidence in my preparation, and I didn’t have enough trust in myself.
“So now I know that I’ve worked harder and prepared myself better than anyone. And I have put things in place. I have a race routine. I have a team of people helping me. I have winning habits. I believe in myself. I have balance in my life. In the end, it’s a mental maturity to let your best come out.”
