It’s not every day that one witnesses successful bodybuilders like Chris Bumstead go through not-so-good phases. Yet, since he always strives to be honest and vocal about his journey, he recently pulled back the curtains on some of his mental struggles on his path to Olympia.
Speaking about how sometimes negative thoughts can result in him spiraling down, landing him in an odd state of mind, Cbum admitted that some days he just wanted to complain. The ever-supportive persona of his took a backseat this time as he mulled over criticism and setbacks.
For athletes like Bumstead, who dedicatedly practice having tunnel vision for their big goals, self-doubt could act as a critical hurdle in their path. Therefore, he wanted to vent to his fans about how he saw himself and others judging him.
All of these factors result in him and, presumably, other athletes being terrified of taking further steps. His message to everyone, thus, was to stop being critical about themselves and others to make things easier in the world.
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“Everyone’s f***ng hypercritical and terrified to do anything, and put themselves out there, and fail. So we hyper-analyze, hyper-criticize, end up paralyzed, and do nothing.”
Adding a silver lining to this tough spot, he encouraged everyone to be a little kind and forgiving, both towards others and themselves. This way, there’s more room for personal growth, and it sets the bar to the bare minimum, which isn’t as bad as one might think.
“Go give someone a “good job” for sucking at something, because at least they’re trying. Maybe it will even give yourself permission to do the same.”
Bumstead has been open about his slightly negative mindset that got him to win five Mr. Olympia titles in a row. Since it kept him grounded, he was always a little hard on himself to do better. All of it changed last year.
Chris Bumstead Switched Gears on His Mentality in 2023
In an Instagram post featuring a physique check-in video before the Mr. Olympia championship in 2023, Bumstead admitted some of the mental tricks that pushed him to be his best. Of all the techniques that he had adopted to tweak his physique to perfection, one of them was to create a sense of urgency to look better.
However, things changed during his previous Mr. Olympia when he realized that a negative mindset wasn’t serving him the desired results like before. Just like his physique, his mindset grew out of the current loop, and he ended up hyping himself up for the championship. His victory for the fifth consecutive time was a testimony to how the shifted mindset worked out for the best.
