Synopsis

Erling Haaland uses a mental strategy to overcome physical exhaustion. His belief that "I'm not tired" aligns with scientific research on performance. Psychological models suggest the brain, not just muscles, dictates endurance limits. Elite athletes employ positive self-talk to push beyond perceived physical boundaries. This mindset shift allows individuals to perform beyond their perceived capabilities.

Erling Haaland's explosive pace, towering frame and clinical finishing have made him one of football's most feared strikers. But behind the goals lies another weapon that has become central to his success — an unwavering mental approach to overcoming fatigue. Whether enduring gruelling training sessions in oxygen-deprived conditions or delivering match-winning performances on the world's biggest stage, the Norwegian star believes the mind often sets the body's limits. His simple mantra, "I'm not tired," reflects a growing body of scientific research suggesting that changing how we think about exhaustion can help us perform beyond what we believe is possible.

All about Haaland's mindset?

While his physical abilities are extraordinary, Haaland believes his greatest advantage lies in mastering his own mind.

“If you tell yourself you’re tired, you’re going to be tired,” Haaland said. “If you tell yourself, ‘I’m not that tired, it’s OK,’ you’re not that tired. Simple as that. So it’s also a really psychological thing because our bodies can handle so much more than we think. A lot is in the mind.”

To hit his training target, Erling Haaland had to push his heart rate to 150 beats per minute, which meant breaking into a brief sprint.

“Did I want to be doing this? No,” he said, looking into the camera. “Will I do it? Yeah … because why not? It’s good for my body. It’s good for my mind.”

What are psychologists saying?

Haaland's belief echoes a mindset long embraced by elite athletes. Marathon runners often rely on positive self-talk to endure grueling races. NBA superstar LeBron James has famously said, “tired is only in the mind,” while former NFL quarterback Tom Brady once summed up the approach even more bluntly: “F— your tired body.”

In 2014, James Hardy, a professor in sport and exercise science at Bangor University in Wales and fellow researchers published a study examining how self-talk influences endurance performance. The research built on work by Samuele Marcora, who proposed a psychobiological model of fatigue, reported New York Times.

According to Marcora's theory, athletes do not stop because their muscles are physically incapable of producing force. Instead, they stop when the brain decides the effort or discomfort has become too great.

Under this model, endurance comes to an end when either the required effort exceeds a person's willingness to continue or when the perceived effort reaches a point where continuing feels impossible.

Those using self-talk improved their time to exhaustion by 18%, while also reporting that the exercise felt easier. The control group experienced no comparable improvement.

Perhaps most revealing was that key physiological measures, including heart rate and blood lactate levels, remained virtually unchanged.

In other words, the athletes were working just as hard physically, but their perception of the effort had shifted, allowing them to continue longer.

“It’s almost like there’s an efficiency gain,” Hardy said.

Hardy says the exact wording may matter less than the message itself. Phrases such as “keep going” or “push through” can produce similar effects by helping athletes reinterpret how difficult an effort feels, reported NYT.

His mantra may sound deceptively simple, but research suggests it genuinely changes how the brain interprets fatigue, making it easier to keep going.

Further research by Ethan Kross, an experimental psychologist at the University of Michigan, has even found that self-talk may be more effective when spoken in the second or third person rather than the first, reported NYT.