CS:GO, Mental Fortitude

Mental fortitude is one of the biggest strengths a CS:GO player can have, especially those who are trying to make it into the big leagues. Things can get ugly really quickly in a game and if not solved they can spiral out of control. What usually eats you up is your own ego/lack of rational thinking which turns into a tilt. This is why you personally and as a team should work on your mental fortitude.

Mental fortitude is the ability to

1. Block out the negative comments that trolls/angry fans slur at you
2. Block out slurs by your teammates or the opponents (in match making and other random pugs)
3. Not blaming your teammates for mistakes in stressful situations nor bringing down the spirit
4. Falling into the mindset that nothing is working e.g. let’s resolve to simple strategies. (Which can work, but the point being if it doesn’t work once or twice don’t fall into the pattern of “keep going it’ll work at some point” )
5. Preventing yourself from going into tilt and keeping your head in the game
6. Keeping communications clean

There are a number of ways you can deal with it. Keep in mind though that each player has his or her own way of tackling these problems and these suggestions might not work for you specifically.

For some of you learning to calm yourself is the only way. It won’t happen overnight but if you keep at it, eventually you will manage. So when you can feel yourself getting angry taking a deep breath, placing your hands over your face and pressing your fingers against your forehead and/or grabbing the table and trying to squeeze it is a good way, try not to yell while doing it. Other similar techniques include (if you have less self-control) having a punching bag, and no: your friend does not qualify as one. Hitting your pillow or bed or for those who have an actual punching bag, it is a good way to quickly transfer that angry energy away from you. Stress balls are another good way to relief anger as you can squeeze (same principle as squeezing the table) the ball as hard as you want without breaking it. For some people who tend to bite down hard or mash their teeth together taking something thick but soft, like a blanket, in between your teeth to bite on is good in not only releasing the stress but also preventing potential teeth damage.

Regardless of how mad you get or which technique you use to calm yourself, you should slowly (through practice) resort to deep breaths as it is a good life skill in general to pick up on. As to blaming teammates and everything around you: as hard as it is, subdue your ego. As a player you can never learn or become better if it is never your fault. Instead of blaming your teammate for doing something wrong, think of what you did wrong. Did you over peak, overextend, did your teammates understand your call, were they ready, was your crosshair placement correct, was your timing right…etc. The only true thing you will achieve by blaming your teammates is lowering the team spirit and creating bad tension between the players. There is always something you can learn on and improve on, even if you are kennyS or Olofmeister. This does not only concern CS:GO but everyday life as well!

In professional matches teams use time-outs for this exact reason, to take a small break, calm down and think of what they are doing wrong and what they can do better. It is hard to see the mistakes you do when under pressure, especially in a match and taking timeouts or literally throwing an eco-round away just so the team can calm down and think things through is a good way to reset yourself. When you tilt in a game it can quickly spiral out of control and sometimes you do not notice that you are on tilt and if your teammates mention it, as hard as it is, do not snap at them. That is your cue to relax, calm down and reset yourself.

Anthony "Alphad115" Fedorov