Mental Performance Coach Says Simone Biles’ Comeback Has Lessons for Us All

Making it to the Olympics requires incredible physical feats, but for elite athletes, success often comes down to the mindset, as evidenced by Simone Biles’ incredible comeback.

Certified psychotherapist Chantell Preston was sitting in a restaurant with the Olympic trials on TV, and noticed that the commentators were focused on Biles, saying that she looked nervous as she approached the finish line and asking questions like, “Can you be the best when the world is watching?” Can he handle the pressure?”

Preston, who is also the founder and CEO of a multi-million dollar health company, owns a dance studio. Dance Barre HTXand middle school girls softball coach, understands the importance of mental fitness and how it can take you from average to elite.

“Simone Biles has physical talent, but she had to overcome a mental breakdown to make sure she was safe and doing her best,” Preston said, referring to Biles who withdrew from the 2021 Tokyo Games due to a case of “twisted objects,” a potentially fatal loss of spatial awareness in the air.

“He was able to achieve this by taking a break from sports to reflect and resolve the mental challenges that arose. “After his dangerous room where he dealt with twisted situations, he had to focus on self-control and use mental imagery, which enabled him to visualize his habits,” said Preston.

“People think that elite athletes have natural talents that enable them to be at the top. “However, elite athletes must have the motivation and discipline to spend the time necessary to improve their physical and mental abilities,” said Preston. “Simone also leaned on her co-workers to support her through her difficult time and continued to demonstrate her leadership skills by acknowledging her challenges and learning how to better learn from them.”

Those mental skills include “self-awareness, recognizing challenges before they happen and developing self-discipline to get back on track,” Preston said. It also helps to have the discipline to focus on what is out of control, manage time and focus on the activities that will have the most impact, and use the power of visualization to improve performance and self-discipline.

Preston also says that if you want to be a champion, it’s important to “focus on the process and not the outcome.”

“We have to be aware of ourselves to know where we are at a high level and where we are not so that we can stop and think about how we can get back on the right path,” said Preston. “It’s okay to stop for a while. [Biles] He had an interruption and chose to stop for a while to see how he can move forward, and come back stronger than before.”

Preston also highlighted the importance of leading by example, noting that “we determine the energy we want to bring to every situation.” He praised Team USA gymnasts Biles and Jordan Chiles for their act of honoring Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade on the Olympic stage after she won the gold medal for her floor exercise.

“Watching Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bow to Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade on the Olympic stage was an inspiring moment of women supporting and celebrating another woman’s success,” said Preston. “Can you imagine the impact women can have if they are always supported by other women?”

TMX contributed to this story.