In every sport, athletes and coaches talk about the importance of the mental game. We hear phrases like “stay confident,” “trust yourself,” or “don’t let mistakes get to you.” We talk about preparation, pressure, and mental toughness. But for most athletes, the actual mechanics of how the mind influences performance are vague. The concept makes sense, but the process is unclear: How, exactly, does the mind shape what the body can do? Why does confidence matter? Why do emotions matter? Why does self-talk matter?
One of the most useful models to answer those questions is something called the cognitive triangle. This model comes from psychology, and cognitive behavior therapy more specifically, but it applies directly to sport in a way that is practical and easy to understand. The cognitive triangle describes how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence each other. What we think affects how we feel. How we feel affects how we act. And how we act influences the results we create. Those results then loop back and shape new thoughts and new feelings. Nothing happens in isolation. The mental and physical elements of performance are tied together, moment by moment, whether we realize it or not.
When athletes start to understand this triangle, they begin to understand why performance fluctuates under pressure, why emotions can either sharpen or disrupt execution, and why confidence is not just a personality trait but a trainable skill. They also start to see why two athletes with the same talent can produce very different outcomes: one knows how to work with the triangle, while the other gets pulled around by it. Understanding this process changes not just how athletes think, but how they respond to adversity.
Spiraling Up: The Power of Momentum
One of the most natural experiences in sport is something we call momentum. Most people think of momentum as external: the crowd, the score, the environment. But the deeper truth is that momentum starts inside the athlete. It is the cognitive triangle working in a positive direction.
Picture an athlete early in competition. They make a strong move, a clean lift, a smart play, or a skilled execution of technique. Awareness and recognition of that success creates a burst of positive emotion: excitement, energy, pride, confidence. Those feelings then shape thoughts like, “I can do this,” or “I’m on the right track.” Those thoughts influence behavior. The athlete begins to move with more confidence and ease. Their timing sharpens. Their decisions become clearer. Their body relaxes in ways that allow skill to express itself. All of a sudden, the athlete looks smoother, more efficient, more assertive. That behavior leads to more positive outcomes, and the whole system begins to reinforce itself.
This is what I call spiraling up. It is the process of building performance upward, moment by moment, through the interaction of thought, feeling, and behavior. It is not magic and it is not luck. It is the mind-body connection working fluidly. In these moments, the body does not need to work harder. It works cleaner. Instead of fighting against tension or doubt, the athlete is lifted by belief and energy. Their physical skill rises because their mental state supports it.
Spiraling Down: The Weight of Doubt
The same system can move in the opposite direction just as quickly. Picture the same athlete on a different day. They make a mistake, miss a lift, lose the ball, get scored on, or fall short of an early goal. Awareness and recognition of that moment triggers disappointment or frustration. Those feelings lead to thoughts like, “I always mess this up,” or “This isn’t my day,” or “I knew this would happen.” Those thoughts affect behavior. The athlete becomes tense, rushed, cautious, or hesitant, nervous to make another mistake. Movements tighten. Skills break down. Decision-making becomes cloudy.
The result is more mistakes or poorer outcomes, which confirms the negative thoughts, which strengthens the negative feelings, and the spiral accelerates downward. Confidence fades. Focus narrows to the wrong things. The athlete may start forcing actions or withdrawing completely. Coaches see it all the time: athletes who look like different people in the middle of competition, not because their physical ability changed, but because their mental and emotional state shifted.
This negative spiral can be triggered by anything external or internal: a bad start, critical feedback, tough conditions, pressure from the moment, perfectionism, or fear of failure. And one of the most challenging truths in sport is that the downward spiral does not require a major failure to begin. One small error or moment of doubt can set it in motion if the athlete isn’t aware of what is happening inside the triangle.
Why the Spiral Matters
The concept of spiraling explains something every athlete and coach has felt, but not always understood: performance is not simply about skill. It is about access to skill. When athletes spiral up, they gain access to more of what they have trained. When they spiral down, they lose access to that training.
That explains why an athlete can look incredible in practice and struggle in competition, or why an athlete can dominate one moment and collapse the next. Their physical ability has not changed. Their access has. The cognitive triangle either opens the door to performance or closes it.
Understanding this gives athletes a powerful sense of control. They no longer have to accept performance swings as mysterious or random. They begin to see how their internal world drives their external results.
The Elite Difference: Spiraling Up from a Negative Event
Every athlete spirals. Every athlete rides emotional and cognitive momentum. But the difference between average athletes and elite ones is not that elite athletes avoid negative spirals. It is that they can interrupt them. They have the skill to reverse direction. They can spiral up even after a negative event, not only after a positive one.
This is where mental performance truly separates the good from great in sport. The best athletes in the world do not wait for success to feel confident. They do not wait for things to go well before they think and feel positively. They know how to climb upward even when the score, the situation, or the environment seems to be pushing them down. In fact, this is often what defines greatness
The process that allows athletes to do this can be summarized in three steps, best formulated by Ken Ravizza, long time Sport Psychologist for the Chicago Cubs, “get the information, forgive yourself, and play on.”
First, they get the information positive and negative, all of it. Instead of reacting emotionally or catastrophizing the moment, they ask: What actually happened? What matters right now? What do I need to adjust? Mistakes become data instead of threats. That shift alone keeps the triangle from collapsing into fear or shame.
Second, they forgive themselves. Athletes who cannot let go of mistakes cannot move forward. Every repetition becomes heavier than the last. Elite athletes understand that self-compassion is not weakness. It is a performance tool. Forgiveness is what makes the present moment available again. It clears the mind, settles the body, and restores a sense of control.
Third, they play on. They shift behavior before thought or feeling has fully caught up. They take the next action with purpose. They breathe. They return to their routine. They re-engage with the task. This behavioral shift creates new evidence for the mind to work with. The thoughts and feelings follow
When athletes do this, the triangle turns upward again. Not in theory. Not in the abstract. In real, observable performance.
Training the Triangle
One of the most encouraging realities about the cognitive triangle is that it is highly trainable. Athletes can learn to recognize the direction of their spiral. They can learn to notice what their thoughts are doing, what their emotions are doing, and what their behavior is doing. They can build awareness first, then control. Over time, they can shorten emotional recovery, sharpen focus under pressure, and create mental habits that support consistency.
This does not replace physical training. It complements it. Just as athletes build strength, speed, or skill through repetition, they can build psychological skill the same way. Every rep in training is an opportunity to practice how to respond to mistakes. Every competition is a chance to practice how to think when things do not go perfectly.
Final Thoughts
The cognitive triangle offers a simple, powerful lens to understand why performance rises and falls. It explains why emotional control matters. It explains why confidence matters. It explains why behavior often needs to change before thoughts or feelings do. Most importantly, it gives athletes a model they can use. It’s not just an idea, not just a theory, but a roadmap.
At the end of the day, performance is not random. It is shaped by the direction we spiral. Anyone can spiral up when things are going well. Champions spiral up when things are not. They get the information. They forgive themselves. They play on. That mental skill creates the conditions for physical skill to shine.
Strengthen your mindset the same way you strengthen your muscles. Strengthen the triangle. Learn the spiral. And trust that performance is not just about what you can do, but about what you can access when it matters most.
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