{"id":169,"date":"2025-07-10T06:25:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T06:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/as-coach-of-a-college-womens-basketball-team-i-stress-the-mindset-of-sustained-success\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T06:25:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T06:25:40","slug":"as-coach-of-a-college-womens-basketball-team-i-stress-the-mindset-of-sustained-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/as-coach-of-a-college-womens-basketball-team-i-stress-the-mindset-of-sustained-success\/","title":{"rendered":"As\u00a0Coach\u00a0Of A\u00a0College\u00a0Women\u2019s Basketball\u00a0Team, I\u00a0Stress\u00a0The\u00a0Mindset\u00a0Of\u00a0Sustained Success\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In 2012, when I was coaching the University of Kentucky women\u2019s basketball team, we came in first in the SEC at the end of the season. Our record for the year was 13-3. But we also lost our game against Alabama \u2013 the team that finished last that season at 3-13. Worst beat first.<\/p>\n

As that old sports adage goes, \u201cOn any given night\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I mean no disrespect to Alabama, but\u00a0in\u00a0that particular season I\u2019d rather have been us, no matter the outcome of one game. Fundamentally, whatever rare upset we suffered, our belief\u00a0in\u00a0our ability to maintain\u00a0sustained success\u00a0didn\u2019t waver. Of course we weren\u2019t happy to have lost against Alabama, but our filters on our thought processes around defeat were healthy.<\/p>\n

Real Success Should Never Be Defined By Short-Term Results<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sports upsets happen all the time, whether during the regular season or in championship games. But what makes a great team, whether in sports or in business, is never one single outcome or result, or even a handful of them.<\/p>\n

Pause for a moment and think of a recent loss or setback you had\u00a0in\u00a0your work life. It could be big or small. Was there something you could have reasonably done to avoid it or some way you could have generated a different outcome? How did you handle it emotionally and how did you think about it? Did you beat yourself up with negative self-talk? Did you let it roll a little too quickly off your back and not take any lesson from it?<\/p>\n

The quality that makes a Hall of Famer comes down to a\u00a0mindset\u00a0that empowers them to achieve\u00a0sustained success. They\u2019ve created the habit of mind to always drive toward excellence. Because excellence is their\u00a0modus operandi<\/em> \u2013 or how they operate, they\u2019re driven to prepare at maximum capacity.<\/p>\n

Developing The Right Mindset<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the key reasons the right\u00a0mindset\u00a0is so important is that it keeps you from wasting energy on unproductive activities. Whether your reaction takes the form of a personal pity party or a relentless inward chewing out, you\u2019re robbing yourself of time and energy you could be spending getting ready to win the next time. But\u00a0in\u00a0overreacting to setbacks you\u2019re wasting energy focused on the outcome instead of thinking, \u201cWhat can I do to become better prepared for the next situation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of drowning\u00a0in\u00a0unproductive negativity, I recommend honestly analyzing a defeat for what you can learn from it. Learning to do this equips you with a valuable tool to improve your performance for the next time. You\u2019ll move onto your next challenge with the confidence gained from a lesson learned, not with pointless self-criticism that leaves you feeling less confident.<\/p>\n

If you realize that you have a bad mental filter for how you process defeats, you can change it. You can develop a\u00a0mindset\u00a0for\u00a0sustained success, and the stronger you exercise that\u00a0mindset, the further you will go.<\/p>\n

During the next week or so, pay close attention to the conversation going on\u00a0in\u00a0your head while at work or training or playing your sport. Make a conscious effort to look at how you process challenges that arise.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • How much time do you spend complaining, either out loud or in your head?<\/li>\n
  • How much time do you spend worrying about circumstances that you can\u2019t control?<\/li>\n
  • Do you frequently think chaotically, as if you\u2019re fighting one brush fire after another?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    If these are your mental habits, you\u2019ve convinced yourself that circumstances are outside of your control.<\/p>\n

    The way out of such victim mentality is to put a stop to your negative thoughts. Interrupt those self-defeating patterns and retrain your brain\u00a0in\u00a0new habits.<\/p>\n

    Develop the\u00a0mindset\u00a0needed to\u00a0succeed\u00a0<\/strong>through these actions:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Decide how to respond.\u00a0<\/strong>When you start complaining, stop and make a list of what practical changes you could make to respond to the situation.<\/li>\n
    2. Focus\u00a0in\u00a0on one action.\u00a0<\/strong>When you catch yourself worrying about circumstances beyond your control, interrupt yourself and ask: What\u2019s one action I could take right now to address my work challenge? And then take that action. Your mind will shift from worry to practical action and will spike your confidence.<\/li>\n
    3. Determine tangible solutions.<\/strong>If you find yourself always barraged by problems and continuously fighting fires, ask yourself: How could I categorize these problems and solve them permanently? Cut through temporary solutions and find clarity that allows for genuine progress toward permanent solutions.<\/li>\n
    4. Tame the conversation\u00a0in\u00a0your head.\u00a0<\/strong>The content that you feed your mind holds sway over your\u00a0mindset. Train yourself to notice the content that you\u2019re feeding your brain. If it\u2019s all about complaints and annoyances from external forces, that\u2019s like feeding your brain a steady diet of junk food. Choose to feed your brain\u00a0in\u00a0a way that builds the\u00a0mindset\u00a0for an unwavering pursuit of excellence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Mastering your thought process will give you the\u00a0mindset\u00a0that lets you crush self-defeating thoughts and keeps you driving\u00a0in\u00a0the direction of\u00a0sustained success.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Author Bio<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \"\"Matthew Mitchell is a\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0USA Today\u00a0<\/em>best-selling author, speaker, three-time SEC\u00a0Coach\u00a0of the Year, and the winningest head\u00a0coach\u00a0in\u00a0the history of the\u00a0University\u00a0of Kentucky women\u2019s basketball program.<\/p>\n

      He now\u00a0coaches\u00a0the\u00a0University\u00a0of Houston\u2019s women\u2019s division 1 basketball\u00a0team. Mitchell\u2019s new book,\u00a0Ready to Win:<\/u><\/em>\u00a0How Great Leaders\u00a0Succeed\u00a0Through Preparation<\/em><\/u>\u00a0(Winning Tools, November 19, 2024) \u2013\u00a0<\/em>already a\u00a0USA Today\u00a0<\/em>bestseller \u2013 shares proven principles that lead to resilience, preparation, and growth.<\/p>\n

      Learn more at www.coachmatthewmitchell.com<\/u>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In 2012, when I was coaching the University of Kentucky women\u2019s basketball team, we came in first in the SEC at the end of the season. Our record for the year was 13-3. But we also lost our game against Alabama \u2013 the team that finished last that season at 3-13. Worst beat first. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.powerhealthyinfo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}