Hockey Friday: Mental Toughness

If you don't follow the San Jose Sharks, you may not know that they have a tendency to be fabulous during the regular season (last season, they won the President's Trophy for best overall record) and then fall to pieces in the playoffs (losing in the first round last season despite having the best regular season record). The sports media tend to talk about "mental toughness" a lot when they talk about the Sharks' playoff performance.

But what is mental toughness?

The best definition I found comes from Penn State. "Mental toughness is ... to be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, resilient, and in control under pressure." To, say, not fall apart when the opposing team scores a big goal.

Honestly, I've yet to watch a team in any sport that's more mentally tough than the Red Wings. I once saw them fall behind early in the game 0-7 against the Atlanta Thrashers, but they didn't get flustered or overwhelmed. Instead, they worked their way back - they still lost, but it was 7-6. They didn't get those six goals at once; they just slowly chipped away at the Thrashers' lead. If they'd had about 3 more minutes, they'd probably have tied it. There's a reason the Wings have won all those Stanley Cups.

The Sharks have been going through a rough patch of late - losing games that they shouldn't have, falling behind 6-0 to the Kings (the Kings!) because of a couple of mental lapses and then being unable to overcome that setback. (They eventually lost 6-2.) They've been playing better, and they certainly look like they care -- which hasn't always been the case.

You can imagine how this might apply not only to hockey, but also to running your own business for the first time. Learning how to stay focused and doing what we can so we don't spend money faster than y'all order lollipops - and to not stress out when that doesn't happen. Instead to figure out how to spend less money and bring in more sales. It's not always easy, but we're learning.