The first skill that most top athletes have, when we study them, when we interview them, that contributes to their athletic success is motivation. They're committed, they're motivated. They're workers. How do you develop motivation? Everybody talks about being motivated. Well, the first drill we'll do is, it can help you do this, and the way we'll do it is you'll need a paper and pencil, so get a paper and pencil out, and I'm going to ask you three questions that I want you to respond to. The first question that I want you to think about.
Why do you play your sport? What makes you passionate about it? What do you like about your sport? Is the physical energy of it? Is it being able to perform in front of a crowd? Is it to be able to do something really well and feel really competent and really worthy about it? Take a couple of seconds and jot down, what's your passion for participating?
Now, look at that sheet, what did you write down? Was it like, you are building things and getting better? Was it you like to be with your friends? Was it you like the physical aspect of your sport? Best part of motivation sometimes is knowing the real reasons you play and knowing those reasons we can come back and drop on those in times that you're not motivated and that will help you perform better. So let's leave that for a second, those big passions you have for play, and let's get a little more specific.
When you're playing your sport, whether you're a swimmer, a basketball player or a golfer, what cue words, what words or phrases or even images when you think of get you really energized and charge of that? Do you have ever seen any of old rocky movies? Is it that rocky music or he is running the stairs in Philadelphia? Is it a word like Fire? Is it a word just simple like go, go, go, go, go? Is it where you drop getting mad, energized feeling state? What gets you going in sport? Take a few seconds; write down some cue words or phrases or feelings that you get you going in your sport.
Alright, good! Now we have those cue words. If simple just may sound a lot of times athletes struggle with motivation and all athletes struggle with motivation. We know that top performers need to practice 10,000 hours before they get to the really highest level. So all performers have to spend a tremendous amount of time and sometimes you get bored, sometimes you can't do novel things.
Well, when you get bored, you don't have to be a victim to it, you can call up these q words and when you're struggling, you're doing that well last wind sprints or you're tired and it's hot out, obviously, you won it, always want to be concerned with safety. But, when you're having to push through that, you can call up these words like, go, go, go, go, or fire, or hear that music in your head or you're running up that hill, make yourself smile, just make yourself smile. It will actually relax your muscles and help you get out more.
So try to identify the situations now in your sport where you really struggle. Is it the end of the practice when you're doing those sprints and is it 8, 9 and 10? Is it when you're really tired or if you're a swimmer and you go to really early morning, 5:30 in the morning practices? Is it a hockey player and you're frustrated because you're not putting the ball in the net? Think of the situations where you have motivational problems? Write those out now.
Great! Now the last thing I want you to do is take each of those situations you listed and then go back and look at your cue words and write down what cue word you use in each particular situation. Then when you struggle and practice remember that cue word and that will help you become energized and stay with it. It's not a miracle; it's not going to make a hard practice easy. If you're bored, it's not going to make the boredom go all the way, but it's going to help you get through that practice more efficiently and effectively and maintain some motivation where you wouldn't have before.
Great! Just remember these things, motivation, you don't have to be a victim to the lack of it, you can do things by thinking of these words, phrases, to help you stay motivated when it's stopped.
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