The Power of Acceptance
When people think about elite performance, they often imagine a certain type of mindset.
Confidence.
Certainty.
Relentless positivity.
But many of the world's best endurance athletes describe something different.
They do not talk about eliminating doubt, avoiding discomfort, or guaranteeing success. Instead, they describe learning how to continue performing when those experiences are present.
This is the foundation of acceptance-based performance psychology.
Acceptance does not mean liking discomfort, lowering standards, or passively accepting poor performance. Instead, it involves acknowledging thoughts, emotions, sensations and circumstances as they are, while continuing to act in line with meaningful goals (Hayes et al., 2006).
In sport, this might mean accepting:
heavy legs during the final kilometres of a marathon
anxiety before competition
thoughts of self-doubt during difficult moments
unpredictable race conditions
the possibility of losing despite excellent preparation
The aim is not to remove these experiences.
The aim is to reduce the struggle with them so attention and energy can be directed towards performance.
This concept is central to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), where psychological flexibility—the ability to remain engaged with valued actions while experiencing difficult internal events—is considered a core process of effective functioning (Hayes et al., 2006).
Within sport psychology, the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach applies these principles specifically to athletic performance. Rather than attempting to control every thought or emotion, athletes learn to notice experiences, accept them, and return attention to effective action (Gardner & Moore, 2007).
The world's best athletes are not successful because discomfort disappears.
They are successful because discomfort no longer controls their behaviour.
Acceptance of the internal: Pain, fatigue and doubt
The first challenge athletes face is accepting what happens internally.
Pain.
Fatigue.
Nerves.
Uncertainty.
A common response is to interpret these experiences as problems:
"My legs feel heavy, so something is wrong."
"I am doubting myself, so I must not be ready."
"This hurts, so I cannot continue."
However, acceptance-based approaches suggest that the struggle against internal experiences can become more disruptive than the experiences themselves.
Trying to suppress unwanted thoughts, emotions or sensations can increase attention towards them, whereas acceptance allows athletes to experience discomfort without automatically reacting to it (Hayes et al., 2006).
Ultra-running legend Courtney Dauwalter provides a powerful example of this mindset through her concept of the "Pain Cave." During extreme endurance events, she describes entering a mental space where suffering exists. Rather than trying to escape the experience, she imagines making the cave bigger—creating more room for discomfort without allowing it to take control.
The lesson is not that pain becomes enjoyable.
The lesson is that pain can exist without becoming a barrier.
IRONMAN World Champion Chelsea Sodaro has spoken about using the word "yes" during difficult moments in competition—saying yes to the next step, the next climb and the next moment of effort. This represents a willingness-based approach: acknowledging difficulty while choosing to continue engaging with the task.
This aligns with research on self-talk, which shows that purposeful self-talk strategies can positively influence sport performance, particularly when cues are matched to the demands of the task (Hatzigeorgiadis et al., 2011).
The question changes from:
"How do I make this feeling disappear?"
to:
"Can I experience this feeling and still perform?"
Dacoucou, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Acceptance of the external: Outcomes, uncertainty and what you can control
Acceptance is not only about internal experiences.
It is also about accepting external uncertainty.
This is one of the hardest psychological skills in sport.
Athletes often want certainty:
certainty that training will work
certainty that they will perform well
certainty that they will win
But competitive sport rarely provides certainty.
Only one athlete wins a race.
A personal best is never guaranteed.
Even perfect preparation does not eliminate uncertainty.
Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen has often argued that many athletes reject the possibility of failure, almost as if acknowledging failure makes it more likely. However, failure is not an unusual outcome in elite sport—it is an unavoidable possibility.
Acceptance does not mean expecting failure or lowering ambition.
It means acknowledging uncertainty while remaining committed to effective action.
This idea is reflected in the approach of athletes such as Eliud Kipchoge, who consistently emphasises preparation, discipline and trust in the process rather than needing absolute certainty about the outcome.
Similarly, Paula Radcliffe's reflections on difficult performances often focused on technical factors such as pacing, preparation and execution rather than allowing individual results to define her ability.
High performers understand the difference between:
What they control:
preparation
effort
attention
decision-making
response to setbacks
What they do not control:
competitors
weather
race circumstances
final outcomes
Acceptance allows athletes to invest fully in the first category while releasing unnecessary attachment to the second.
Three acceptance strategies used by elite athletes
Strategy 1: Create space around discomfort
Courtney Dauwalter's Pain Cave metaphor reflects a key acceptance principle: difficult experiences can be noticed without becoming overwhelming.
Instead of:
"This pain means I have to stop."
The athlete learns:
"This is pain. It is part of the experience. I can continue."
Acceptance-based interventions aim to change an athlete's relationship with discomfort rather than eliminate discomfort itself (Gardner & Moore, 2012).
Try this:
When discomfort appears, describe it objectively:
"My breathing is heavy."
"My legs feel tired."
"I am noticing the thought that I want to stop."
Then return attention to the next controllable action.
Strategy 2: Use willingness-based self-talk
Chelsea Sodaro's use of "yes" is an example of a willingness cue.
The purpose is not forced positivity.
It is commitment.
Instead of:
"I cannot do this."
The athlete moves towards:
"This is difficult, and I am choosing to continue."
Research suggests that self-talk interventions can improve performance by directing attention, increasing confidence and regulating effort (Hatzigeorgiadis et al., 2011).
Try this:
Choose a simple cue word:
Yes
Forward
Commit
Stay
Use it when discomfort or doubt appears.
The cue becomes a reminder that difficulty is part of the process, not a reason to disengage.
Strategy 3: Accept uncertainty and prepare your response
One of the most useful ways to use acceptance is to acknowledge uncertainty before competition begins.
Instead of pretending everything will go perfectly:
"I might struggle."
"I might not perform how I want."
"I might fail."
Then decide:
"What will I do anyway?"
This connects with the concept of implementation intentions—specific "if-then" plans that help people respond effectively when challenging situations occur (Gollwitzer, 1999).
And, although not strictly an “acceptance” approach, research shows implementation intentions can support goal achievement by linking a challenging situation with a predetermined response (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006). In sport, the evidence base is still developing, but the approach provides a practical method for preparing responses under pressure (Bieleke et al., 2021).
Examples:
"If I start doubting myself, then I return attention to my breathing."
"If the race becomes painful, then I focus on the next kilometre."
"If something goes wrong, then I adapt rather than panic."
You cannot remove uncertainty.
But you can decide how you respond to it.
Acceptance creates freedom
The best endurance athletes are not successful because they avoid difficult experiences.
They succeed because they stop treating difficult experiences as something that must disappear before they can perform.
They accept:
The pain.
The doubt.
The uncertainty.
The possibility of failure.
And then they return to what they can control:
The next action.
Acceptance is not giving in.
It is removing the unnecessary fight with reality so your energy can be spent on performance.
The goal is not to become someone who never struggles.
The goal is to become someone who can continue moving forward when struggle arrives.
Acceptance is not an “easy” thing to develop. It is often uncomfortable and can feel as if we are relinquishing all control. However, it can also be incredibly freeing. We can free ourselves from the shackles of worry and self-doubt controlling our behaviour, and open ourselves up to embracing the next action and whatever that may bring.
It is not something that you become comfortable with over night. But, take the time to cultivate it, and pair it with other key psychological principles (such as present moment awareness and understanding your values based ways of being), and acceptance may help you to unlock another level of performance.
Thank you for reading and as always, have a great week.
Frazer
References (APA 7th edition)
Bieleke, M., Wolff, W., Englert, C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2021). If-then planning in sports: A scoping review. Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie, 28(3), 109–120.
Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2007). The psychology of enhancing human performance: The Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach. Springer.
Gardner, F. L., & Moore, Z. E. (2012). Mindfulness and acceptance models in sport psychology: A decade of basic and applied scientific advancements. Canadian Psychology, 53(4), 309–318.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503.
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.
Hatzigeorgiadis, A., Zourbanos, N., Mpoumpaki, S., & Theodorakis, Y. (2011). Self-talk and sports performance: A meta-analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(4), 348–356.
Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25.
