Susie Moonan is a Mental Coach working with athletes on al levels. She has a history as an elite swimmer and is a member of Team Envol. Get to know her better on her website Push On Coaching.
This past year has definitely taken its hit on us in different ways and for some of us especially regarding motivation. So what can you do to stay motivated despite the many obstacles you might be seeing right now (closed pools, cancelled competitions)?
What is motivation?
Don’t forget; the same mental skills that athletes use in achieving success in sports can be used to achieve success in other areas of life.
Motivation, simply defined, is the ability to initiate and persist at a task. To perform your best, you must want to begin the process of developing as an athlete and you must be willing to maintain your efforts until you have achieved your goals.
Motivation in sports is so important because you must be willing to work hard in the face of fatigue, boredom, pain, and the desire to do other things. Motivation will impact everything that influences your sports performance: physical conditioning, technical and tactical training, mental preparation, and general lifestyle including sleep, diet ,school or work, and relationships.
The one thing you can control
The reason motivation is so important is that it is the only contributor to sports performance over which you have control. There are three things that affect how well you perform. First, your ability, which includes your physical, technical, tactical, and mental capabilities. Because ability is something you are born with, you can’t change your ability so it is outside of your control.
Second, the difficulty of the competition influences performance. Contributors to difficulty include the ability of the opponent and external factors such as an “away game” crowd and weather such as temperature, wind, and sun. You have no control over these factors.
May the most motivated win
Finally, motivation will impact performance. It is also the only factor over which you have control. Motivation will directly impact the level of success that you ultimately achieve. If you are highly motivated to improve your performances, then you will put in the time and effort necessary. Motivation will also influence the level of performance when you begin a competition. If they’re competing against someone of nearly equal skill, it will not be ability that will determine the outcome. Rather, it will be the athlete who works the hardest, who doesn’t give up, and who performs his or her best when it counts. In other words, the athlete who is most motivated to win.
- Motivation is about being aware of the rewards and benefits that are expected to be experienced through sports participation.
- Motivation means being able to persist through difficult tasks and times, even when these rewards and benefits are not immediately forthcoming.
- Motivation means being aware of the benefits from sports participation, not the outcome.
Susie Moonan, Push On Coaching
