Achieving excellence, it turns out, is rarely a pristine, elegant process.

For decades, mental-performance coaches worked with Olympians to engineer flawless moments. The goal was to help athletes enter “the zone,” that elusive flow state where everything clicks. “There was a lot of focus on being in the zone—in your flow state—and basically trying to set up the perfect performance,” says Sean McCann, Ph.D., a senior sport psychologist who has coached athletes for 33 years with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

But moments of perfection are few and far between while chaos is more common than you’d think. Over time, elite performance training has shifted to reflect that reality.

Rather than chasing ideal conditions, today’s mental coaches prepare athletes for disruption. “We’ve evolved into helping athletes figure out where their head is and be able to handle a lot of chaos, rather than seeking an elusive flow state,” McCann explains. The focus now is on “moments of disruptive pressure,” when standard tools like visualization are not enough because the situation overwhelms available mental resources.

Thankfully, these strategies are not reserved for gold medalists. They can help anyone navigate a tense negotiation, a major presentation, or simply the unpredictability of daily life.

Here are five lessons Olympic coaches use to build resilience and sharpen focus.

Calmness is overrated

High stakes bring nerves. That is not a flaw; it is biology.

“Understanding that most big performance moments are somewhat internally chaotic is really useful,” says McCann. Instead of fighting anxiety, athletes are taught to normalize it.

Research supports this shift. In one study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, participants who reframed pre-performance anxiety as excitement performed better. That subtle mental pivot can change how the body’s arousal is interpreted.

Michael Gervais, Ph.D., performance psychologist and host of Finding Mastery, encourages clients to adjust their inner language. Rather than labeling a moment as “pressure-filled,” try calling it “intense” or “electric.” Removing judgment “helps you bring yourself forward to meet the challenge at hand,” he says.

Anxiety does not have to be eliminated. It simply needs to be harnessed.

Everything is data

For elite athletes, setbacks are not personal verdicts; they are information.

“Olympians flex optimism,” says Gervais. “They tend to interpret events in a way that gives them agency and the opportunity to grow.” That means dissecting performance with precision rather than self-criticism.

McCann suggests asking a key question: Was it the outcome you disliked, or the execution? If execution was strong but the result fell short, the factors may have been outside your control. If execution faltered, that is where growth lives.

“Did you abandon your plan? Get distracted? Was it something you didn’t do, you can’t do, or just something you haven’t done before?” McCann asks. Each misstep offers actionable insight.

When everything becomes data, even disappointment becomes useful.

Sometimes things just feel awful

There is a temptation in high-performance culture to minimize pain. That approach no longer holds.

“One of the things that greats do more than they did 25 years ago is be honest with themselves,” says Gervais. Emotional honesty, he argues, is foundational to resilience.

He recalls working with the Seattle Seahawks during both a dominant Super Bowl victory and a devastating loss the following year. “It would be a mistake not to feel all of that,” he says. “If you’re muted or you fear the depth of what those emotions might be, the unlock to performance isn’t available. You have to feel it first in order to grow and learn from it.”

Acknowledging disappointment does not weaken resolve. It strengthens it by grounding improvement in reality. Journaling, reflection, and candid conversations all help build this emotional clarity.

Rest is not weakness

Mental recovery is often overlooked, yet it may be the hidden engine of sustained excellence.

Robert Andrews, L.M.F.T., founder of the Institute of Sports Performance and consultant to Olympic champions including Simone Biles and Simone Manuel, warns against the relentless “more, more, more” mindset. Grinding harder does not always lead to breakthroughs.

When clients push themselves to exhaustion without progress, Andrews asks a deceptively simple question: “What do you do to fill up your tank?” The answer must extend beyond sleep. It should involve meaningful activities that restore energy and perspective.

Some athletes go for a relaxing stroll. Others gather with friends or lose themselves in a hobby. Researchers have even called mental recovery time “the forgotten session.” Social connection, in particular, appears powerful; athletes who reported socializing as a recovery strategy performed better than those who did not. Sustainable performance depends on intentional renewal.

Focus on the process, not the finish line

Elite competitors understand that outcomes are earned through preparation, not obsession.

Imagine a 1,500-meter runner fixated on the final 300 meters. Fear of fading might cause hesitation early in the race. Instead, McCann advises building a plan: where to position yourself, how to pace the middle stretch, when to surge.

“Identifying what a really great race looks like and making a plan for it gives you a chance to have that great race,” he says.

This mindset shifts attention from “What if I fail?” to “How will I execute?” It is the difference between chasing a number and committing to behaviors that make the number possible.

In business, sports, or personal life, focusing on controllable steps reduces anxiety and increases clarity. You cannot control every variable, but you can control your preparation and response.

Bringing it into everyday life

Olympic coaches no longer train athletes to chase perfection. They train them to navigate disruption with awareness, flexibility, and honesty.

Calmness is not required. Data replaces drama. Emotions are acknowledged, not suppressed. Recovery is prioritized. And the process matters more than the scoreboard.

Excellence may be messy. But with the right mental habits, it is also trainable.

Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.