Developing Sports Motivation

Sports motivation is that "inner drive" that empowers a person to prepare and perform at their absolute best.

Below you can find information on how to develop your sport motivation and continually improve your performance.

Preparing Yourself to Win

Preparation, or preparing to win, can be tedious and boring at times. However, the reality is that great athletes only achieve the pinnacle of performance through preparation.

How can you develop that "inner drive" to prepare?

1st. Confess each day that "I am a winner." There is a paradoxical truth that states "You must first believe you are something before you can become it." Subconsciously, you must believe you are a winner before you can become a winner.

2nd. Confess each day "I can do my drills and have fun doing them." The simple words "I can" starts your mind thinking and creating solutions. Before you know it, you will be having fun.

3rd. Ask your coach or trainer what you need to do to get better, then do it.

4th. Set your goals each week to do each day the things you need to do to get better. However, please remember, you are not a machine. There will always be interruptions (illness, injuries, academics, etc). The important thing to focus on is consistency over time. Skills aren't developed over night, but over weeks, months, and years.

5th. Set reasonable and attainable goals. Improving your skills is much like running a marathon - find a comfortable pace (amount of work) that you can do each day.

By training consistently and intelligently each day you can put yourself in a position to perform at your absolute best when it's game time.

Sports Motivation - �Game time�

Performing at your very best is the goal of every competitor. Again, to perform at your best, you must 1st believe you can.

Pre-game exercise

1. Set your performance goals. Choose goals that are just out of your reach.

If you score an average of 5 points a game, go for a goal of 6 points.

2. After you have set your performance goals, unconsciously �accept� them.

Close your eyes, and say out loud �I can score 6 points,� and then say over and over again �accept it, accept it, accept it...� until you feel your mind has accepted it.

Do this mental exercise for each of your performance goals and see what happens. (Note: Mental skills are developed the same way as physical skills, practice over time.)

Improving Your Performance

Would you like a sure fire formula for increasing your sports motivation and performance?

Here is a simple, but powerful way to continually improve.

2. What mistakes did I make?

What are all possible solutions to those mistakes

3. How could I have improved upon my performance?

4. What wisdom can I gain from those experiences?

Things to keep in mind about using this system:

2. Vince Lombardi said �Perfection is impossible, but it is in the pursuit of perfection that excellence is obtained.� When using this system you may find you never have a �perfect� game (without any mistakes). Remember, each mistake you make is an opportunity to improve and become even more effective.

In summary

Winning and performing well are the easiest ways to improve your sports motivation. However, performing at your absolute best is no accident nor does it come effortlessly. Investing in developing your mental skills will pay dividends in the form of continually improving performance.

(Note: the above exercises and strategies are only suggestions, as you continue to work with them you may find other techniques that work even better for you.)

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