Fans across the globe are excited about the Summer Olympics.

If you want to be an Olympian, mental toughness is an essential ingredient for a gold medal performance. Mental toughness is another term for what many people call “grit.” The American Psychological Association defines grit as a personality trait characterized by the ability to overcome challenges and stay motivated in the face of failure, hardship and plateaus.

Research published in the Journal of Sports Sciences found that successful Olympians have a high degree of self-confidence. They are able to block out distractions, manage their arousal level and demonstrate a healthy form of perfectionism. Clinical psychologist Dr. Ryan Warner said mental toughness is not about suppressing emotions but about accessing and expressing them.

“Mental toughness actually refers to how do we not suppress our emotions? How do we identify that this is a challenge in front of me? What are some thoughts that are coming up? What are some emotions that are coming up for me and how is that impacting me? Also, when do I need to seek some support, recognizing that I may not be able to handle this issue by myself, whether that be sadness, anxiety, irritability, etc.,” Warner explained.

Olympians possess several qualities that foster mental toughness, including:

1. Goal-setting: Olympians will engage in various goal-setting strategies to deliver a successful performance.
2. Self Talk: In a given day, we have over 50,000 thoughts. Olympians engage in positive self-talk, including affirmations of their strength and cue words that pump them up or manage their nerves.
3. Imagery: Imagery enables an Olympian to envision performing their discipline from start to finish, as if they were doing it in real time.
4. Arousal control: Successful Olympians are well dialed into their level of arousal, and they can self-regulate if they find they are outside of their comfort zone.

Everyday Health listed the following steps for boosting mental toughness:

1. Be honest with yourself about how you react to things: “Building a base level of self-awareness can go a long way in developing the skills necessary to be mentally tough.
2. Use stress management techniques: When faced with a difficult situation, Warner recommends practicing stress management techniques like deep breathing.
3. Practice self-compassion: If you’re hard on yourself when you get stressed or things go wrong, you’ll only make the situation worse.
4. Seek therapy when you need it: If you feel like you’re blocked — maybe a certain situation always spikes your stress levels and makes you panic, and you can’t seem to push past that reaction — therapy can help you figure out what’s holding you back and how to move forward.