Rehearse the Disruption Before It Disrupts You

Mindset Made Simple Tip #287



I can’t believe I am going to quote Mike Tyson, but here I go! Except for the quote below and a guy with a partial ear, my only other memory of the guy is the night our dorm went on lockdown…way before lockdowns were a thing...because the best friend of the girl accusing him of rape lived below me…and someone threatened her. FUN.

Nevertheless, what he said is true!

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth!”

And we get punched in the mouth no matter how much we plan, practice or prepare. It’s part of the deal.

But distractions and disruptions are not the problem. How we respond to them is!

Crowd noise. A missed cue. A teammate’s reaction. A mistake. A delay. Something unexpected that pulls your attention away from the task in front of you.

These moments are unavoidable in performance. What is trainable is what happens next.

This is where mental rehearsal becomes a competitive advantage.

The exact same thing I do with any other team – athletic, non-profit, or corporate.

Because peak performance principles don’t belong to one field. The brain doesn’t care whether the stage is a field, a court, a boardroom, or a spotlight. The demands are the same: manage pressure, regulate emotion, stay focused through disruption and recover quickly when things don’t go as planned.

Mental rehearsal works because it trains the PROCES, not the performance. It teaches performers to anticipate disruption, recognize internal reactions and choose productive responses in real time. That skill transfers everywhere excellence is required.

Different uniforms. Different stages. Same mental game.

And when we train the mind with the same intention, we train talent and technique; we don’t just perform more consistently. We make good performances better, no matter the field.

Mental rehearsal is not just positive thinking or imagining everything going perfectly. Research in sport psychology shows that mental rehearsal is most effective when performers rehearse challenging situations and practice choosing a productive response. This type of imagery is often called motivational imagery, coping imagery, or, as you may know, stress inoculation.

Studies consistently show that vivid mental rehearsal activates many of the same neural networks used during real performance, including areas responsible for motor planning, attention and emotional regulation. In other words, the brain does not strongly differentiate between a real experience and a well-rehearsed imagined one. When you repeatedly rehearse responding calmly and purposefully to disruption, you are strengthening those response pathways before you need them.

Emotion regulation research adds another important layer. Athletes who practice coping imagery report lower anxiety, greater perceived control and improved emotional stability under pressure compared to those who only rehearse successful outcomes. Rehearsing perfection feels good and there is a place for it…I highly recommend the tool! But rehearsing disruption prepares you for reality.

A Division I softball player used this beautifully to help her manage a tough conversation with a coach. She did not know how her coach would respond to her inquiry about a reduction in playing time, so she rehearsed EVERY SINGLE possible response she may encounter (maybe not every single one…but the ones she thought possible 😊).

It was time well spent. After her conversation, she called to tell me that she didn’t hear what she wanted. BUT, she responded with maturity, respect, the ability to listen and gather important information and walked away feeling good about the conversation. And lo and behold, it wasn’t long until she was back in the lineup…and she never came out again.

Clearly, her talent and putting in the work mattered. But a disrespectful response, the inability to listen and ask questions, a negative reaction causing distance between her and the coach (from her side of the equation), a negative mindset…any of these could have changed her behavior and possibly her willingness to do what she needed to do to take advantage of any future opportunities.

But she was ready. Because she took the time to prepare herself for what might come and her brain and body knew what to do!

From a neuroscience perspective, this matters because pressure and distraction increase emotional reactivity in the brain. When we are surprised by stress, the emotional centers of the brain can hijack attention and decision-making.

Mental rehearsal helps counter this by strengthening top-down control from the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for awareness, choice and self-regulation. The result is less reactivity and faster recovery.

Mental rehearsal also builds metacognition, our ability to notice what is happening internally without being controlled by it. When we rehearse watching ourselves respond, we create a pause between the trigger and the action. That pause is where discipline lives. It is where you shift from reacting to choosing. It’s our response-ABILITY!

Here is the simple, research-backed application:

Rehearse the distraction you are likely to face.

Rehearse the emotion that typically shows up.

Rehearse noticing it without judgment.

Rehearse choosing a productive response that brings you back to the task.

Not perfect. Productive.

The goal is not to eliminate emotion or prevent disruption. My athlete knew her conversation might be emotional…because she cared so deeply about the issue.

The goal is to train your nervous system to recognize them quickly and respond on purpose.

Familiarity reduces threat. And preparation reduces panic.

We practice everything else over and over…it seems like this is a great skill to add to the list!

We’re going to get punched in the face. It may knock us down or out. Or maybe it only makes us stumble…but no matter the impact, if we’re ready with a response, we’ll recover faster…maybe before the punch fully lands! 😉

We do not rise to the occasion under pressure. We fall back on what we’ve rehearsed.

So, rehearse the hard moments before they happen. And watch yourself manage them. Be ready to get back to steady!

Julie

P.S. Want more ideas for using mental rehearsal? Reach out now and let’s design something that fits exactly what you need. Shoot me an email or text – juliej@ssbperformance.com or 234-206-0946

Julie Jones

Mental Performance Coach

SSB Performance

www.ssbperformance.com

juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946