by # Decoding Patrick Mahomes’s Strategy for Overcoming Fear
Patrick Mahomes is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL today. At just 26 years old, he already has an NFL MVP award, a Super Bowl championship, and multiple Pro Bowl selections under his belt. What makes Mahomes so successful at such a young age? Beyond his obvious physical talents, a big part of it is his fearless mentality and ability to overcome nerves in high-pressure situations. Even the most confident athletes still experience fear – so how does Mahomes manage it? Let’s take a deeper look at his approach.
## Understanding Fear
Before diving into Mahomes’s strategies, it’s important to understand what fear actually is and why we experience it. On a basic level, fear is our body’s natural response to perceived threats, dangers, or risks. It activates our fight-or-flight response and primes us to either confront or avoid whatever is causing the fear.
From an evolutionary perspective, fear played an important role in survival. It helped our ancestors detect and avoid real dangers like predators or dangerous environmental situations. On a neurological level, the amygdala region of the brain processes fear responses. When it detects potential threats, it triggers the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prepare our body to respond.
In modern times, many of our fears are no longer related to physical survival. We experience fear of public speaking, failure, rejection, heights, and more abstract or social threats. While fear still serves an important purpose, too much fear can become problematic. Excessive, irrational fear can hold us back from taking risks, trying new things, and reaching our full potential. It’s something all athletes, and people in general, have to learn to manage.
## Mahomes’s Personal Experience with Fear
Interestingly, Mahomes has been quite open about his own struggles with fear and nerves, especially early in his career. In interviews, he’s acknowledged always feeling at least a little anxious before games, even after achieving so much success. “I still get nervous before every game,” he said. “It’s just the way my body works.”
This shows that even the most confident athletes are still human. No matter how talented or accomplished, our brains are wired to experience fear. The key is what you do with those feelings. For Mahomes, overcoming fear became a process of self-discovery.
In his rookie season, he recalls feeling overwhelmed coming off the bench for Alex Smith in Kansas City. The speed and pressure of the NFL was an adjustment. He started to doubt himself. But through experience and guidance from mentors, Mahomes learned to manage those nerves in a healthy way. Now he uses them to his advantage, but we’ll get more into his specific strategies later.
The takeaway is that Mahomes understands fear intimately, both from personal experience on the field as well as observing how it affects others. This self-awareness forms the foundation for his approach to overcoming it.
## Preparation is Key
One of Mahomes’s core philosophies is that preparation breeds confidence. And confidence is like kryptonite to the fear monster. He spends hours studying film, analyzing opponents’ tendencies, and visualizing success. This attention to detail gives him a sense of control over unknown factors that could otherwise fuel anxiety.
“The more prepared I am, the less nervous I feel,” Mahomes said. He’ll break down tape of defenses from previous years to anticipate coverages. During the week, he visualizes specific routes and reads that might come up in the game. Come Sunday, there are few surprises.
This preparation even extends to trusting his teammates. Mahomes knows his receivers’ tendencies inside and out from spending extra time practicing together. He’s developed an almost psychic connection with Travis Kelce based on their shared experiences. This trust in his support system also reduces the pressure he feels as the sole playmaker.
The mental preparation allows Mahomes to play freely and make split-second decisions without hesitation or second-guessing. There’s a fluidity and confidence to his game born from understanding all the moving parts. When the moment is biggest, he relies on the work already done during the week. Preparation is Mahomes’s way of controlling the controllables and reducing uncertainty – a major cause of anxiety.
## Focusing on the Present Moment
While preparation gives Mahomes confidence, his ability to stay present is what allows him to perform under pressure. He doesn’t get bogged down thinking about past mistakes or future consequences. Mahomes channels all his energy into executing the task directly in front of him – whether that’s the current down, series, quarter or play.
This mentality stems from advice he received early on. As a rookie, he struggled after throwing interceptions. Coaches told him to forget the past play and focus only on the next one. It was a lesson that stuck with him. Now, Mahomes is a master of compartmentalizing.
He’ll make a mistake, process it quickly, then shut out distracting thoughts. His mind immediately shifts to the immediate task of leading his team down the field again or getting the ball back. Mahomes credits this presence as a major reason he’s able to rally his team from behind so many times.
Staying present also helps Mahomes block out external noise and pressure. He tunes out critics, stats, scores and the game situation. His tunnel vision concentrates only on dissecting the defense directly in front of him play-by-play. This approach keeps Mahomes performing at his best in do-or-die moments when fear tries to creep in.
## Using Positive Self-Talk
In high-pressure moments, negative thoughts have a way of sneaking into our minds and fueling doubt. But Mahomes counters this with a deliberate practice of positive self-talk. He’ll remind himself of past successes to boost confidence. If a play goes wrong, he’ll think “I’ve done this before, I got this.”
Mahomes also visualizes himself executing perfectly. He’ll picture routes, throws, reads and outcomes in his head to imprint the muscle memory and belief that he can perform under any circumstance. This mental rehearsal is a form of positive self-fulfilling prophecy.
He’ll also compliment and encourage himself and teammates. “You’re the best in the world, go show them,” he might say. Or he’ll remind Kelce “you got this, I trust you 100%.” Hearing and sending these positive messages rewires his mind to overcome limiting beliefs and fear-based thinking.
It’s a practice Mahomes started in college at Texas Tech after noticing how his self-talk affected his confidence and play. Now he’s a master of using this mental tool to stay poised and play to his potential no matter the score or situation. Positive self-talk has become a key part of his fear-conquering process.
## Embracing Challenges and Pressure
Rather than fear adversity, Mahomes views challenges as opportunities. He embraces pressure and sees it as a chance to prove himself. This mindset is a major reason Mahomes thrives in the most intense moments.
When his team faces a big deficit late, he doesn’t panic. He gets excited for the opportunity to lead a comeback. Mahomes lives for these high-pressure situations where others might crack under the weight of expectations. It’s a mentality he developed from his father Pat, a former MLB pitcher who instilled a love of competition in his son from a young age.
Now Mahomes approaches each game with a championship-or-bust mindset. He expects to succeed no matter the circumstance. This attitude empowers him to overcome fear of failure or looking bad on the sport’s biggest stage. Mahomes has proven time and again he performs best with his back against the wall and everything on the line.
Embracing pressure as a chance to prove doubters wrong fuels Mahomes’s competitive fire. It’s a mental advantage that’s helped him lead fourth quarter comebacks that others may have crumbled under. His fearlessness in critical moments is a huge reason for the trust his teammates and coaches place in him to deliver.
## Relying on a Support System
No one succeeds in a vacuum. Mahomes understands the importance of surrounding himself with a strong support system to stay grounded through challenges. He credits his family, especially his father and wife Brittany, as his rocks who keep him humble.
Teammates are also a source of positive energy. Mahomes has built a brotherly bond with the Chiefs locker room based on mutual trust and respect. He leans on veterans like Travis Kelce not just on the field but off it as well. Their friendship has been integral to Mahomes’s growth and ability to manage nerves.
Coaches also play a key role through their guidance, belief and accountability. Andy Reid has empowered Mahomes to play freely but also helped him develop mentally by challenging negative behaviors. Together they’ve built a relationship where Mahomes knows he can always lean on Reid for advice or just to take his mind off the game for a bit.
Having this circle of support to lean on in tough times reduces Mahomes’s stress levels. He knows he doesn’t have to go through challenges alone and can rely on others to lift him up. Their unconditional belief in him gives Mahomes confidence to overcome any fear or adversity that comes his way.
