Is It Worth The Risk?
February 4, 2010
Distractions happen in sport. Some of them are uncontrollable like game delays, comments made by spectators, change in weather and sudden equipment problems.
However, there are some distractions your athletes can control.
Your athletes have most likely had a “what if” thought? What if my team loses at our home field? What if I get injured? What if I don’t qualify for the championship? What if my coach doesn’t pick me to start? What if I disappoint my parents? What if I can’t put it together in the race?
No matter what the “what if” thought, you can ask your athlete this follow-up question: Is it worth the risk?
To be the best athlete you can be, it takes 100% focus and commitment to your performance. Your athlete’s desire to succeed must outweigh his/her desire not to fail. In other words, during competition, his/her focus must be on winning and not on what’s going to happen if he/she loses.
To have an unwavering focus on achievement, your athlete has to be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices in order to progress. Those sacrifices include injury and disappointment and they have to be worth the risk in order to achieve his/her goals and get where he/she wants to be in the chosen sport.
Call to Action:
As soon as your athlete has a “what if” thought, ask him/her the following two questions:
- Is it worth the risk? If the answer is yes, proceed to question #2. If the answer is no, your athlete will need to review his/her achievement goals.
- Why? What can you achieve with proper focus and commitment? Why do you want to achieve your goals – what will they do for you?
Believe and Achieve,
Dr. Haley
P.S. Leave a comment to tell me what you think or if you have any questions.
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Great article , the winning idea must be present to achieve our goals but the doubt is always present , do you think w/ a review of your goals, and make it more specific, that insecurity feeling will disapear? keep sending good posts as this Thanks for sharing
Hi Roberto, there is only so much we can focus on at one time. When we consume our thoughts with goals, purpose, and action steps, we make less room available for doubts and fears. Thanks for sharing.