Train Your Mind for Athletic Success by Jim Taylor

Author:Jim Taylor [Taylor;Ph.D., Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2017-07-27T04:00:00+00:00

Determine reasonable goals using the SMARTER guidelines, as well as the other criteria I describe. If you are unsure of which goals to set, sit down with your coaches and prepare your goals collaboratively, as they often have experience and perspective on your development that can help you set the best goals that will motivate you most.

Tip from the Top: Deal with the Grind

Hopefully you train and compete in your sport because you love it and find it a lot of fun. Improving, the competition, hanging with your friends, travel, achieving your goals, and, yes, even winning, make sports fun and exciting. But not every aspect of pursuing your athletic goals is fun. In fact, it’s often hard, really hard. No matter how much you love your sport and how much fun it is in general, there are many specific aspects of being an athlete that are decidedly not fun, especially the physical conditioning. I’m thinking of those cold, early morning runs; those workouts in the rain or blazing heat of summer; those multiple sets of weights; and those incredibly intense intervals in the gym.

This is what I referred to earlier as the grind, which starts when it gets tiring, painful, and tedious—with little fun to be had. Most athletes, when they experience the grind, either ease up or give up. And we all know that no good comes from either of those reactions. But truly motivated athletes realize that the grind is also the point where their effort really starts to count, because the real physical, technical, tactical, and mental gains are made in those last few reps, laps, miles, exercises, or drills. Great athletes reach the grind and, instead of easing up, keep on going and, in fact, push harder because they know that maintaining their effort, intensity, and focus during the last moments of a training session can mean the difference between success and disappointment in the coming season.

I’ve heard sport psychologists and mental coaches say that you have to love the grind. I say that, except for a few hypermotivated athletes, love isn’t in the cards, because there’s little to love. Sweating, gasping for air, feeling fatigue down to your bones, and screaming muscles are part and parcel of becoming the best athlete you can be; however, they are decidedly aspects of training most athletes do not enjoy. But how you respond to the grind lies along a continuum. As previously stated, loving the grind is rare. At the other end of the continuum is hating the grind. If you feel this way, you are not likely to stay motivated and continue to do the work necessary to achieve your goals. My solution is that you neither love nor hate the grind; rather, you just accept it as part of the deal in striving toward your goals. The grind may not be enjoyable, but what feels even worse is failing to achieve your goals for the season because you didn’t work hard enough when confronted with it.

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