Book Review: The Brave Athlete by Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson
The Brave Athlete by Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson is a great sports psychology book. What I liked most about this book is that it balanced being scientific and coherent with being practical and fun to read. In this book, Marshall and Paterson go over twelve of the most common issues that athletes face, which are: Creating a healthy athletic identity. Building confidence. Improving work ethic by forming good habits. Dealing with social comparisons. Dealing with body image issues and eating disorders. Coping with injuries. Dealing with exercise dependence. Leaving your comfort zone and overcoming fears. Persevering through challenges and fighting the temptation to quit. Embracing the suck and building mental toughness. Improving concentration skills. Performing under pressure. To begin the book, the authors teach us about a simple metaphor used as a mental model to help represent and understand the brain and human psychology. In this mental model, the brain consists of