Mental Preparedness Series: Self-Motivation

One may try to maintain a positive attitude, however at times this may not be possible due to the hurdles that every athlete encounters during their careers.  Self-motivation in this case, is the key.  Jack J. Lesyk, Ph.D. lists maintaining a high level of self-motivation as second on his list of The Nine Mental Skills of Successful Athletes and we couldn’t agree more.

In order to remain motivated as an athlete, one must be able to ensure that they are able to completely comprehend all of the great things that come along with their participation in their particular sport.  For some, it may be as simple as continuing to become faster, stronger, and looking better.  For others, it may be the renewal of a contract with a higher salary.  Whatever can be used to motivate an athlete in a positive way, is a good thing.  However, the athlete must understand that there are times which that their participation in their sport may not become as rewarding as they had initially thought.

Athletes like anyone else, go through highs and lows throughout their training and careers on physical and emotional levels.  For some, the highs and lows may be so extreme, that the mentally unprepared may have difficulty rebounding from their lows.  The mentally strong however, are persistent during their most difficult lows, whether dealing with injuries, being on a losing team, or the possibility of dealing with a personal, or emotional hurdle.

As a mentally strong, and successful athlete, one will be able to remind themselves throughout their careers that many of the benefits and rewards that come along with their sport are due to their participation in their sport, rather than the outcome of daily training, a poor game, or a losing season.

Athletes who are successful will instead be able to use their lows to their advantage; they understand that they can’t carry their teams, and that they are unable to win every game.  The only way to ensure that the athlete is able to continue to improve, is to look back and analyze areas where they went wrong with a positive attitude and use a combination of their highs and lows to continue to motivate them to be better than the day, week, month, or season prior.